Fear and a sense of foreboding accompany the shadow of a police officer knocking someone’s door in a village. The weight of proving one’s “innocence” gets so overwhelming that the very purpose of such a surprise visit vanishes. But not in villages of Korba — the power hub of Chhattisgarh that produces more than 3600 MW of electricity.
Meet Shyam Lal of Barbuda village and he’d tell you how his surprise gave way to a sense of security. “The officer introduced himself as the Superintendent of Police, Bhojram Patel, and requested for my time to share our safety and security concerns,” he says.
Korba district police chief Patel has devised novel plans to connect with the people they serve. The 2013-batch IPS officer has conceived specific people-centric programmes which are injected into the course of duties of the district police. The plan of action is gaining the confidence of the people and has simultaneously led to improved police performance.
Patel, who has a humble background of a teacher in a village school, took charge of the district in July 2021. He wants his team to go beyond usual policing. “Challenges in life can also add to your strength in shaping your character. The focus remains on achieving ‘Vishwas-Vikas-Suraksha (trust, development and security), a goal set by the state government,” says Patel.
“Why should there be a gap between the community and the police? The strong bond of mutual trust can pave the way for the police to become more accountable, accessible and visible to the people with better outcomes,” he says.
For speedy redress of complaints, one of his pioneering initiatives is 'Tuhar Police Tuhar Dwar’ (your police at your doorstep). Usually, the complainants go to the police station to lodge their grievances. In Korba, however, the police visit door-to-door in rural areas to attend to the complaints.“While remaining diligent in our pro-people functioning, we try multiple ways to initiate contacts and invite conversations to serve them,” said Parish Kurre, town inspector of Bankimogra.
The Korba police have deployed three mobile vehicles to cover the ‘Tuhar Police Tuhar Dwar’ service, reaching out to villagers in an attempt to resolve the problems “then and there.” The visiting police team can also register FIRs.
“It takes time to resolve the complaints of the people who visit a police station. At times, complainants are not satisfied. So the police team carries out field visits with pending complaints, meets villagers, gives a patient hearing and conducts on-the-spot interrogation or inquiry,” says Patel. The mobile vehicle carries a local police officer with supporting staff.
They have set up a ‘compensation cell’ to help people get financial aid during manmade or natural calamities. A three-member Compensation Cell ensures claims for damages are settled within a timeframe. “My father, the only breadwinner of our family, died after a snake bite. The compensation of `4 lakh facilitated by the cell came as a relief,” said Ganpat Sahu, a Class XI student. Many farmers were compensated after crops were damaged. The SP also launched a programme for schools which involves visits by police personnel to schools twice a week. They hold sessions to infuse better understanding of traffic rules and basic laws.