Source: http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.co ... n-of-worryA police officer's service firearm, that once instilled fear of law into trouble-makers, is fast becoming a matter of concern for the cops themselves. The service weapon, many cops say, has become more of a source of tension than an effective tool.
For many cops, the gun is just a part of the uniform. The only time they touch the weapon is while getting ready. An officer said that most of his colleagues retired having served the department for three decades or more without using the weapon even once. The only exception to this being the mandatory annual firing practice. This is true for all the state's cops except ones who may have served in Naxal-affected districts and, of course, the trigger-happy encounter-specialists of Mumbai police.
The fear of judicial review and departmental enquiry makes cops keep their hands off the weapon even while facing an angry crowd or a dangerous goon. It has been spoken that some cops would rather let a wanted criminal escape than challenge him with the pistol to deter him from fleeing. The department tells the force to be extra careful while using their weapon. Human rights scrutiny also acts as a deterrent. There is a lot of hype by media that puts the case under added scrutiny, say cops.
Despite shunning their use, firearms can still be source of endless worries for the cops. The latest example is of the assistant police inspector (API) of Chandrapur. While he was away on some work, his son used the firearm left at home to shoot at his friend. A senior officer in Mumbai was in dock after his wife complained her husband was threatening her with the weapon. Apart from this, there had been numerous cases where cops or their kin used the weapon to commit suicide.
With the department holding cops accountable for every bullet they fire (which is relaxed for Naxal-affected Gadchiroli), the personnel and senior officers prefer to refrain from shooting in the air as an effective measure to disperse mob. The department, apart from seeking account of each bullets fired, also minutely reviews whether the need to fire was genuine.
Forget firing in the air to control a mob, most cops dread going into a crowd for the fear of their weapons getting snatched or stolen. "People were pelting stone on me but I was more concerned about not losing the pistol. It is better to be at hospital on sick leave than to get suspended or face departmental enquiry for losing the service weapon," said a senior inspector.
A retired senior officer narrated how he once wanted to fire with his service weapon to tackle a violent mob during a protest. The bullets fell off after the magazine slipped from his hand. The cop was fortunate to survive the attack.
The firearm, on several occasions, becomes a weapon against the cop himself. In a recent case, a commando of Nagpur police wanted to tame down a bootlegger by brandishing his weapon. The bootlegger snatched the firearm, thrashed the commando with it, and ran away with the gun. A sub-inspector of city police had picked up a quarrel under the influence of alcohol with another customer at a bar in Sadar a couple of years ago. His gun was robbed from him during the scuffle. He was, however, lucky to get it back. Another PSI was recently suspended in Gondia for losing his pistol while patrolling.
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