The recent unrest in Delhi was another scar for independent India that could have been easily avoided. Delhi Police’s failure to manage the situation cost 42 precious lives and left hundreds injured. It is now clear that if Delhi police had taken timely action or acted on intelligence inputs indicating brewing troubles in the national capital such loss of human life and property could have been averted. But for reasons best known to Delhi Police bosses, the police remained inactive whilst hooligans and goons ruled the streets of the national capital for nearly 100 hours. What prevented the police from performing its duties? Why did the police remain mere spectators when trouble was at its peak? Why didn’t it take thousands of distress calls from various parts of the city seriously? There are many such questions which the Delhi Police will have to answer in the coming days. It can no longer take shelter behind rules and regulations to hide its failures.
For the past few months, things have been going awry for the Delhi Police. Delhi Police was engaged in a scuffle with advocates just a few months ago. The legal fraternity demanded that the police officials responsible for attacking them be suspended. The Delhi Police Commissioner agreed to that demand. But knowing this, lower rank police officials thronged the headquarters and demanded immediate removal of the superiors who were sympathetic towards the demand raised by the advocates. The unruly police personnel created unprecedented chaos sending a signal to every countryman and woman that members of a once disciplined force were no longer interested in following the orders of their superiors. Barely had the dust settled, the infamous Jamia incident took place. Till today, it is not clear on whose instruction the police force entered the university premises and attacked the students assembled in the library. As vice chancellor of the university categorically stated that she did not call the police, it is still a mystery why the police entered the university area. Delhi Police’s silence on the whole controversy clearly proves some operational failures occurred and that is why the police are not forthcoming about the incident. Again, tensions have been rising in Delhi for the past couple of days on the issue of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Intelligence reports clearly suggested that a group with vested interests would try to create disturbances in Delhi during the US president’s visit. But Delhi Police did not pay any heed to such warnings. Further, when trouble broke out, Delhi Police also did not follow the standard operational practice. Neither did the law enforcing agency try to take control of rooftops to prevent stone-pelting nor did it make any effort to cordon off the disturbed area so that hooligans would be stopped from accessing the area easily.
All such lapses clearly prove that the Delhi Police is no longer the model police force in the country. The money spent on its modernisation has gone to waste. Its vast resources tipped to combat mob violence to chemical weapons are just propaganda. It may be the national capital’s police force, but currently, it is the most ineffective police force in the country. There is an urgent need to rectify the flaws which have weakened the Delhi Police. Otherwise, the national capital will become a favourite haunting ground for hooligans that are out to destroy the social fabric of our country.