Within a corrupt system, cops in Karnataka are angry and helpless

It required the death of two senior police officers to bring out Karnataka’s worst kept secret.

It required the death of two senior police officers to bring out Karnataka’s worst kept secret — that the core of the state’s police system is rotten, and probably beyond redemption. A political class that has no qualms about using police as a tool to meet its goals and a section of police brass that is more than willing to play along have ensured that the force remained hostage to a corrupt system forever. Here, sincere officers stick out like a sore thumb, and the unwritten code dictates that only those with a debatable idea of honesty are likely to prosper.

DySPs Kallappa Handibag and M K Ganapathy, who both killed themselves one after the other and in different circumstances, paid with their lives for being part of this system. It was only recently that another young DySP, Anupama Shenoy, chose to leave the force where she was assured of a promising career. She quit in frustration. Her resignation came just months after her much-publicised transfer (reportedly at the behest of a minister) from Ballari and the subsequent reinstatement (following public protests).

Handibag too had a promising career ahead of him. He was young and undeniably bright. He would have been probably still alive, continuing to be the pillar of support that he was for his poor family, had he not joined the police force. He hanged himself on July 5 after being accused of involvement in an abduction-cum-extortion case in Chikmagaluru. But officers part of the investigation suspect that he was unwittingly sucked into an extortion racket in which his higher-ups played an active role. The taint of corruption proved a heavy cross to bear and a naïve Handibag chose the only exit route that he thought was available.

Mangaluru DySP Ganapathy killed himself two days later in Madikeri, but not before naming, in a sensational TV interview, then minister K J George and two top police officers as his tormentors. Ganapathy’s death cost George his job, though it took a court order and some serious effort from Opposition parties to make him leave. Both the police officers named by Ganapathy — A M Prasad and Pronab Mohanty — have been moved out of their posts. The government’s attempts to blame the officer’s wife for the suicide backfired splendidly.

But sadly, the trend that started with Handibag is refusing to end with the police force continuing to witness suicides and suicide attempts. A woman SI working in Bengaluru had to be hospitalised after her failed effort to kill herself. She has accused her senior officer of harassment. A head constable with the state reserve police in Vijayapura in North Karnataka committed suicide last week. Though senior officers blamed it on domestic trouble, the talk is that head constable Annarao Saibanna (50), who was taking psychiatric treatment, was upset after being denied a transfer. A woman home guard, who is a constant fixture outside the Bengaluru city police commissioner’s office, managing traffic there, tried to kill herself over non-payment of salary. She said she was not paid for four months. Another policeman in Kalaburagi approached a TV channel there with his tales of harassment and a suicide threat.

The season of police suicides highlights a grave fact — the average policeman in Karnataka is sad, angry, frustrated and hopelessly helpless. The police force is severely understaffed and most personnel are overworked. Apart from the fact that there is a shortage of 30,000 personnel (30%), mismanagement of the available manpower is another reason for the discontent among the rank and file.

Officers admit they have to pay their superiors for postings and continue to pay to stay in their jobs. There are posts which command a huge premium, say department insiders. The price depends on the post, area and duration, they say. Some policemen say they have to pay bribes to even get leave. Understandable, since one of the main grouses of police personnel, whose plan for mass protest leave in June was foiled by the government, was the denial of leave. Other gripes included low salaries, harassment by seniors and continuation of the orderly system. Transfers cost money, promotions are hard to come by and performance is often a liability. There is no other way to survive in such a system than be corrupt, some say. A corrupt system can produce only corrupt officers. It’s an arrangement that suits the bosses, both political and police.  It’s only when some upright officers speak out or the tormented ones take the extreme step that the establishment gets shaken. It sits up and takes notice. But only briefly. For, the system is a monster, created and nurtured by those with an insatiable hunger for power and money. This probably is the story of all police forces in India. Ganapathys and Handibags make for interesting diversions, but they can’t alter the storyline. 

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