WB police irked over rights panel report

The delay in presentation of the report is expected to delay the work for another annual report for the year 1999-2000 which is due this year-end. The WBHRC report for the year 1998-1999 was sent to the state home department in April this year.

A section in the state home department believes that “these were delaying tactics, as a few police officials `with influence’ were not happy with the recommendations.”

Coinciding with the delay, the Third Report on West Bengal Police by the Committee on Estimates 1999-2000, in its section `Custodial Crimes and Views of the Human Rights Commission,’ buttresses the point that unhappiness of a growing number of police associations with the procedures of the rights body. The report of the Committee on Estimates was presented in the state assembly in July this year.

The committee observed that a reply from the West Bengal Police Directorate to a query from the committee has drawn its attention to “the difficulties felt by the police officials because of procedure adopted by the state human rights commission, National Human Rights Commission while conducting an inquiry against them.”

The reply said: “…since the inquiries conducted by the WBHRC/NHRC have the status of quasi-judicial bodies, and on the basis of these findings, quite often police officers are facing even criminal charges, it should be ensured that during the inquiries …the police officers get the reasonable opportunity of defending themselves….”

“Due adherence of the principles of natural justice demand that this protection ought to be afforded to the police officers who are facing inquiries into actions taken by them in discharge of their official duties and in the general interest of the administration.”

Giving an example from the memorandum of the West Bengal Police Association, dated May 20, 1998, the committee report quoted it having said that the WBHRC’s stern action in the cases of custodial death taken against police officers “demoralise them.”

The Paschim Banga Non-Gazetted Police Karmachari Samiti in its memorandum, dated June 5, 1998 pointed out that “the role of Human Rights Commission has caused fear and hesitation in the mind of the police personnel in discharging their entrusted task on many occasions.”

Expressing similar concern, the IPS Association, West Bengal, told the committee that: “It has also been our experience that the police officers of different ranks are not getting adequate protection in certain situations where their actions under question have been in the discharge of their duty….”

The Estimates Committee report however admitted: “…major portion of the allegations (against the police) cannot be substantiated for want of proper evidence….But the number of allegation against the police personnel are on the increase.”

In another place, the Committee observed that “the cases of direct involvement of police personnel in criminal activities are not so much although there are allegations of refusal to record complaint, tendency to minimise offence, unnecessary arrest in course of investigation,…non-action in execution of court orders etc against the state police.”