Under DGP Dinkar Gupta people see ‘caring face’ of Punjab Police, sheds rank imperialism tag

The Punjab Police, which were seen as only a baton of the government, has emerged as a helping hand to the common people, since IPS officer Dinkar Gupta has taken the charge as Director General of Police (DGP), Punjab, especially during the times of pandemic.

Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh is acknowledged of his plenteous support to the bureaucracy and police administration in their endeavours. Following the lead, DGP Gupta has changed the opinion of the people towards the police which has been going on from the past long time.

During the lockdown in the state, the people have witnessed the ‘caring face’ of the police personnel, who has helped needy people by delivering food items and medicine to their door steps. There were many occasions, when cops helped migrant labourers, who were walking back to their native places in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, etc. Even when kids were distressed that there will be no birthday celebrations this year during lockdown, it was Punjab police cops, who had brought the smile back on the faces of the kids by giving surprise visit to their homes with cakes.

One incident of humanitarian work of cops was witnessed in Moga during curfew, when no hospital opened doors for a pregnant lady and left helpless on the road with her husband. It was two Punjab police personnel, who came for her rescue and arranged help after which she delivered her child on the road. DGP Gupta honoured them with coveted disc for their exemplary service to the community.

On the number of occasions, theDGP has appreciated the humanitarian service of his force, which has boosted the moral of the cops and developed the community service idea among them.

This positive atmosphere has changed the peoples prospective towards the cops and the credit goes to DGP Gupta’s encouraging approach to handle the situation. Due to which the Punjab Police have come out of the ‘non-caring’ image and built a much needed trust among the people.

DGP Gupta is the force behind the efforts to shed the tag of rank imperialism inside the Punjab Police. He initially kick off the trend of "Police Officer" – which means no matter what your rank is, a police personnel will be treated as merely a police personnel. Dismantle of police imperialism is quite a task to overcome, but it can be termed as a decent start.

WIC News correspondent reached out to the police personnel in the state, especially to those with lower ranks. The local cops including lower rank cops expressed their admiration towards DGP Gupta and claimed that this happened for the first time in the since they have joined the force that people have started to respect every police officer in the state as any other holding the higher rank in the administration.

"Usually, when we stop someone disobeying the traffic rules, people put up a call to our senior police officers. Consequently, it was disrespectful for us to take a call and let the offender go. But, now the situation is quite different," said Traffic Police officer on condition of anonymity.

Information received through reliable sources reveals that officer system is being implemented by the strict restrictions by Punjab DGP, which includes the uniform respect to every police personnel regardless of their rank.

After the attacks on the police personnel in Punjab during lockdown, the state government and the DGP Gupta is taking actions to ensure the criminals are punished equally irrespective of the position of the police officers being attacked.

In other words, the criminal who strikes on a police constable will be charged the same as the individual who tries to attack a higher ranked official.

The DGP Gupta recently stated after the incident of an attack on a police officer in Patiala that such unfortunate events will not be entertained and suspects will be punished under the law.

Recently on April 12, 2020, in Patiala, Punjab, a police team safeguarding city was attacked by a specific group of a community, the attackers brutally chopped off a police officer's hand with a sword and left him to bleed

However, the injured Assistant Sub Inspector named Harjeet Singh was rushed to Patiala's Rajindra Hospital from where he was further referred to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Science (PGIMR) Chandigarh. After long eight hour surgery, the hand of the officials was connected back. Seven individuals were arrested and charged under various sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Another such event occurred in Jalandhar, where a police constable who tried to stop a car was dragged on the bonnet by a twenty-year-old college student. Shortly after, the police captured the student, along with him, his father was charged with attempt to murder a police officer on duty.

Less political intervention from the past four years in such undertakings has let the police and administration re-establish their power which was earlier lost under the shadow of political pressure.

It has been experienced that since the Congress government assumed office in Punjab, the administration is capable of taking relevant actions because there is much less political involvement than it used to be.

Police morale is up by the decisions taken from the top, as most of the actions against police personnel have dealt with stringent measures.

WIC News correspondent in Punjab communicated with some people to take their views on the efforts of the police administration and especially, about their negative image across the state.

Kritika Khurana, 25-year-old advertising manager from Ludhiana, stated that "It was really depressing to watch the viral video where some individuals chopped off a police officer's hand with a sword, these people are acting crazily. Police and health-workers are risking their lives to ensure the safety of the public, but it so bad that they are receiving this bad behaviour from people in return. I am glad that higher-ranked police officers are there and taking actions."

Another seasoned police personnel said that Punjab police have finally been successful in washing off the stains from their image. "I am happy that the police have a good image among people. Faith towards police has now prevailed by successful administration of police structure. Perhaps, still, there are many loopholes in the Punjab police, but I would say that for the first time police is on the right path."