Asish Mehta
post news network
Bhubaneswar, Oct 15: Every police official has to wear his/her name tag for easy identification, according to a Supreme Court directive. But several commissionerate police officials are reluctant to put name tags on their uniforms.
Police sources said several assistant-sub-inspector rank officials and a couple of sub-inspector rank officials are not putting the name tags on their uniforms.
“Cops, who are not putting the name tags on their uniforms, give excuses like, I have misplaced the tag, I forgot it at home, the tag got detached while the shirt was being washed, etc. Some cops even appear before the magistrates in district court here without their name tags or with tags that are not properly pinned to their uniforms,” they added.
According to the Supreme Court directive, police officials carrying out the arrest or handling the interrogation of a detainee should wear name tags specifying their designations.
The apex court had said that police officials, who fail to comply with the requirements, are liable for departmental action. The official will also be liable to be punished for contempt of court and proceedings may be instituted in any high court of the country having territorial jurisdiction over the matter. Bhubaneswar DCP Satyabrata Bhoi told Orissa POST that certain officials are not pinning name tags on to their uniforms. “We will issue stringent warning to all officials, including constables and the home guards, to pin name tags on their uniforms,” Bhoi stressed.
Talking about the right to Zero FIR where a rape victim can register her police complaint from any police station according to a Supreme Court ruling, the DCP said some times complainants from other districts in the state approach police stations in the capital city and their complaints were being lodged here.
“All the police stations here are registering rape cases immediately after any victim approaches them. However, since the police stations are in close proximity here, some cops are referring such cases to Mahila Police station in the city,” he added.
Some police officers said that sometimes, the police station under which the incident had occurred refused to register the victim’s complaint in order to steer clear of responsibility.
“They try to send the victim to Mahila police station,” they said.
“However, many women are not aware of the Supreme Court’s direction, for which they leave the police stations when the cops tell them that it doesn’t come under their jurisdiction,” they added. PNN
