Director General A.P.Police

An interview with Mr.H.J.Dora ,
Director General, A.P.Police

Along with the changing times, the role of the police has undergone phenomenal changes. Even in post-independent India, the image of the police as an institution of social control remained by and large repressive. But when awareness among the masses goes up and with that the willingness to abide by the laws as it happens in a progressive democracy, then the time is meant for adapting to the changing environment. That is exactly what the Andhra Pradesh police is busy doing. As far as the state Director General HJ Dora is concerned, the whole idea is to give a face-lift to the stereotype image of the police.

"The police should try to meet the aspirations of the people", says the articulate Dora. A staunch advocate of modernization, Dora stresses the need for technology to make the police force more effective. However, he admits the police force now has to grapple with new challenges like regulation of ever increasing traffic and making heavy security arrangements for VIPs , other than maintaining the law and order. In an exclusive chat with khojhyderabad.com, the charming police chief talks about the present state of affairs in the state police.

Excerpts from the interview:

Q.What are the changing facets of police administration over the years?
A. The changing times have brought changes in the role of the police as well. Traffic is a big problem in the modern world. It is the job of the police to facilitate the smooth flow of traffic. With more vehicles coming on the roads, the job of traffic regulation becomes more difficult. However, the problem does not end there. Unfortunately, our traffic is basically a mixture of two-wheelers, autos and four-wheelers, besides bicycles. Though buffalos have been banned at many places in the city, their intrusion into the roads still remains a matter of concern.

Q. As a matter of practice, does the police force prefer to go after soft targets like discotheques and other night time recreation places instead of hard-core criminals?
A. No, that’s not right. We also chase naxalites and kill them. The problem is that after eleven in the night, many anti-social elements become operative. And it is again the responsibility of the police to curb this menace. Drunken brawls are quite common late in the night. So it is necessary that there should be some restriction imposed after late hours. Usually preventive actions like these are not appreciated,  yet they are very important from an administrative point of view.

Q. What is the crime rate in the city?
A. Compared to other metros, the crime rate in Hyderabad is quite low. According to the National Crime Rating Bureau (NCRB), among the states AP has a lower crime rate. In fact, the crime rate in AP is much lower than the neighbouring states like Maharashtra, MP and Karnataka. Interestingly, the crime rate is much higher in cities like Bangalore where the local media devotes considerable space for crime coverage. To top it all, the incidence of railway crime is also quite low.

Q.What kind of priority do you accord to interface with the public?
A. Our main priority is to understand community needs. AP is the only state which has appointed an officer of the DIG rank to deal with community relations. Usually the victim comes to the police station to lodge a complaint. But we want to meet the citizens under normal circumstances. Involving senior citizens we have formed a group called ‘Maitri’. This is a non-political body. We interact with the members from time to time in order to figure out what exactly the people want from the police. People are also very happy with this kind interface and there is a fight amongst them, to become members of `Maitri. Now they feel free while coming to the police station.

Q. What is the role of women in the police? Do they receive any preferential treatment inside the system.
A. Women in the police usually have a very tough time. Unlike banks and other organizations, there is no work environment in the police. One has to work at odd hours. For example, if there is a dharna staged by women then we have to send women personnel. The women can certainly handle women better than men. That apart, the women police have to take the under trials to court. If a woman suspect has to be examined then it’s better that a woman SI gets down to the job because of better empathy.

Q. How different are the police as a public service compared to what they were in the colonial days?
A. The police service has also been affected by the increasing democratic changes of the system. The earlier coercive method would prove extremely counter productive under the prevailing situation. The approach of the post colonial police has to be humane.

Q. What is your opinion about the usual refrain against the police excesses?
A.Well there are stray cases of custodial deaths and harassment. Recently, we have arrested an SI and a constable in connection with a custodial death. The deaths in custody happen when the police use third degree measures to extract information from the accused. In the process sometimes injury to vital parts of the victim’s body might cause his death. There are instances when victims in the police custody, driven by manic depression, commit suicide by consuming pesticide. Actually we come down very heavily on aberrations like this. In fact, a custody death due to police excesses is booked as a murder case. We are building a sophisticated forensic lab to establish evidence in criminal cases so that any possibility of harassment or third degree methods can be done away with. So the criticism against the police is quite misplaced. It often comes from those who do not have any work, the arm chair intellectuals variety who exaggerate things without having any idea.

Q. There have been charges of fake encounters against the state police. Comment?
A. No, this is rubbish. We are killing the naxals in proper encounters. We are either catching them or killing them. If these encounters would have been fake, then the police men would not have been losing their lives or getting injured. However, in our fight against them usually our casualty rate remains pretty low, at least compared to the other side. This happens because our force is well trained and we have more fire power. However, there is no such thing as a  fake encounter.

Q.Has the naxal problem affected the morale of the state police?
A. Absolutely not. On the other hand, our police personnel are a motivated lot and supremely confident of curbing the insurgency. The greatest thing that makes us feel very positive is the support of the local public. The people are clearly disillusioned with the naxal nuisance. Without their support the police could not have achieved much. Now-a-days, the people have even stopped providing food to the naxals. Their mass appeal has diminished so much that at some villages some of them were lynched by the people, besides being beaten up once in a while.

Q. According to you what should be the ideal role of the police in the future?
A.Well we have to train our people. The public wants a very effective police, we have to come up to their expectations. More importantly, the public’s main priority is peace and we have to ensure it. The police force has to undergo the process of modernization. Our area for development is our response time. In order to be effective, the response time of the police has to be damn fast. Then only can it deal with emergency situations. To spruce up things we need more modern gadgetry.

Q. What is the motto of your force?
A. To guard our people and ensure a crime-free environment conducive to progress.

Rudy Mohan