In some ways, the alacrity with which a posse of policemen reached the spot in Malad on early Sunday morning where a burglary was in progress within minutes of
being called, shows that despite all their faults, the Mumbai police still retains the instinct and sharpness of any good law and order force.
However, there was also a Keystone Kops quality to the whole episode; the policemen were carrying hardly any serious weaponry except lathis and a single pistol which, after a bullet had been fired from it, jammed. The result: an injured cop and a gang of 15 or so thieves who decamped, but not before they spread terror in the neighbourhood.
The state's Home Minister RR Patil says the police do not require guns to kill bedbugs. Presumably his point is that even in this day and age of high-tech weaponry, the Mumbai police should continue using old fashioned arms like lathis and pistols.
This approach, valid though it may have been in an earlier era, is now out of date. The Mumbai criminal has moved on; shouldn't the police force keep pace and have access to better weapons?
Interestingly, the police chief AN Roy, has a different take on the same issue. He has recently set up a special squad headed by 'encounter specialist' Vijay Salaskar to tackle the menace of the growing number of robberies. In other words, Roy gives his men the right to shoot them dead like the police would a hardcore, runaway offender. Imagine a force with high-tech weaponry which also has the freedom to shoot to kill? It has serious implications for the citizenry; because members of the public could get caught in the cross-fire. There has to be a middle-ground between being trigger happy and yet being an effective police force.
What the citizen wants is a well-qualified, well-equipped and well-trained law and order force that will protect him. Incidents such as the one in Malad do give a sense of confidence that the Mumbai police will respond, and respond quickly, to the needs of the Mumbaikar. At the same time, it is frightening to know that the criminal element gets away because the police force is poorly armed. The authorities have to find a way to reassure the public without going overboard and buying heavy duty weaponry.
