Clearly, the private police co-operative housing facility was being built with contributions mostly from those in the locality who visited the police station to lodge complaints and seek protection against threat to life and property from known or unknown goons. Anyway, police protection to owners or illegal grabbers of urban or rural real estate does not come free.

Strauss, an Anglo-Indian, was told that he could list his complaints against the mafia land developer as a general dairy (GD) with the police if he did not have the money to get the FIR done. Police GD entries are not the same as police FIRs. It is not that the police do not conduct investigations against GDs, but they hardly have the same impact as FIRs which means taking cognizance of a crime. An FIR, a case diary noting by a police officer in his own handwriting on the basis of verbal statement made by a complainant or complainants, and signed by him at the bottom of the report, means a certain a police case against the accused. A complainant becomes a witness to the prosecution. It becomes a legal case, the state versus the accused.

The strength of such a police case depends on the nature of FIR noting by the police officer. The latter may deliberately make the FIR weak to ensure minor punishment for the accused for money or under external pressure. The FIR-linked case goes out of the hand of the original complainant. The latter does not bear the financial burden of pursuing the case while as a star witness the complainant may be given some physical protection from the police against any possible harm from the accused. That explains why FIRs don’t generally come free and, also, why the police are normally reluctant to take FIRs except probably in the cases of murders and riots. Not even rape victims find it easy to get police FIRs done. Complaints against criminals from the poor and those without strong political or bureaucratic connections are rarely treated as FIRs.

FIRs, which warrant prompt and serious investigations and arrests, if necessary, are also avoided by the police very often because of the acute dearth of investigators in its ranks. The police on the actual crime beat are getting fewer and fewer. And, the latter are invariably overworked. The demand-supply mismatch creates an ideal breeding ground for corruption, especially at the grass-root level, forcing the common man to pay bribe for police help. The poor, who can’t bribe, can expect little from the police. The police protection against crime or criminal intent comes with a price tag. Corruption in the police and justice system has become a social disease. And, no one — the least of all the government – seems to be losing sleep over it.

In fact, the Indian state must be among the worst performers in terms of protecting life, liberty and property of citizens which its constitution guarantees. The government has failed its police force. In return, the police have failed the poor and the common man, who constitute 80 per cent of the country’s population of 1.21 billion. While the 2011 census of India has listed as many as 641 districts in 28 states and seven union territories, the number of police stations – big and small — across the country is only around 12,000. According to the former union home secretary, G K Pillai, India has 130 cops per 1,00,000 people. But, in real terms, the number of policemen strictly on the line job will not be more than 50 per one lakh population, especially in densely populated state and district capitals.

The largest concentration of policemen is in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, having nine districts. Delhi boasts some 55,000 police personnel, the largest in any of India’s metropolitan cities. Ironically, Delhi is also India’s crime capital. For many years, it has occupied the number one slot in road accident deaths, varying between 1,800 and 2,200 per year. The latest available Delhi police report suggests that as many as 55 per cent of the strength of its force are engaged in security duty, mainly for the protection of VIPs. Only 32 per cent are involved in routine policing job in line operations. The traffic police account for 3.6 per cent of the force. The rest are engaged mostly in clerical or back-office function.

Most police stations in states such as Uttar Pradesh (75 districts), Madhya Pradesh (50 districts), Bihar (38 dist.), Maharashtra (35 dist.), Rajasthan (33 dist.), Tamil Nadu (32 dist.) and Karnataka and Orissa (30 districts each) are highly under-manned. With crime rates showing constant uptrend in majority of these districts, the way to secure justice comes at a cost. The corruption within the police force has become all pervasive, involving even high ranking officials. As of March 31, 2010, there were as many as 33 Indian Police Service (IPS) officers facing trial on criminal charges, including murder and rape. The number of lower-ranked police personnel facing charges of corruption and criminal conspiracy across the country is huge and increasing by the day. Unfortunately, not many are prosecuted and handed down exemplary punishment leading to growing public distrust of and frustration against the justice system.

The police are increasingly becoming part of organised crime such as bootlegging, spurious trade in food, beverages and drugs, women trafficking and smuggling, illegal encroachment, land mafia operation, etc, often with the blessings of politicians. It seems protection to criminals and law offenders are receiving higher priority to our police force compared to the safeguarding of the interest of victims of these criminals or the common man. The money-hungry criminally-oriented police and politicians make a lethal combination to support every major illegal trade and business. Together, they operate like mafia syndicates.

The lower judiciary in district and sub-division levels is no less involved in promoting and perpetuating the grass-root corruption. Almost nothing moves in small-causes courts, SDJM and DJM courts without money. The so-called mandatory 90-day charge sheet period is often violated by the police and overlooked by the lower courts to extort money from the accused. Many times, it is also done under political pressure. Even high courts are not clean. Recent reports of high court judges granting bail for graft are a matter of serious public concern.

The grass-root corruption is eating into the vitals of the country. It has spread deep, far and wide to cover almost every aspect of our life and activity. In value terms, such common systemic corruption may well exceed the combined corporate, defence and other government procurement or licence-linked corruption. To think of or to prescribe a single legislation or a single authority such as Lokpal to tackle this monstrous problem would be too utopian to be of much use. Something of immediate relevance could be to bring about a strong police and judicial reform. A strong social grass-root reform would be equally relevant. Maybe, a mandatory annual disclosure of assets by policemen, taxmen and judges and their kin could act as a deterrent against corruption. A wide-spread and effective consumer movement against corruption, civil society resistance and the setting up of special courts for speedy disposal of corruption cases could also help. (IPA Service)