To protect good and to punish evil is the motto of Maharashtra Police force, which holds the highest strength in India with 1.95 lakh civil policemen and 1.5 lakh women.

1. BJP to revolutionize Maharashtra Police force with new
vision : Devendra Fadnavis
To protect good and to punish evil is the motto of Maharashtra Police force,
which holds the highest strength in India with 1.95 lakh civil policemen and
1.5 lakh women. Unfortunately, in this very Indian state, police personnel in
highest numbers are committing suicide due to lack of proper healthcare
and accommodation facilities. Moreover, Maharashtra police have turned
into the dancing puppets in the hands of Congress-NCP led state
government. Maharashtra Police (Amendment) Bill 2014 recently passed by
govt aims at increasing political intervention in policing instead of police
reform expected by Supreme Court.
1. In 2013, Maharashtra ranked first in highest number of police suicides
with 40 cases, which were 28 in 2012. During the period from 2006 to
2013, Maharashtra reported 267 police suicides, the highest among all
states. The reasons behind state's worst figures include lack of proper
healthcare and accommodation facilities for the police, over-burdened
with inordinate working hours and travel, as per former Mumbai

2. Police Commissioner M.N. Singh.
2. Deputy CM Ajit Pawar had accepted on August 22, 2013, that police
personnel are being used in some cases for the protection of VIPs'
children at swimming pool.
3. Ironically, as is apparently visible in all other departments, the lower
designations of police personnel, who play significant part in
investigation, are not provided their due credit. Rather, senior officers
gain media limelight for successfully solving the cases.
4. As per NCRB report released in July 2014, in Maharashtra 34 prisoners
escaped from lock-ups and 113 escaped from police custody outside
lock-ups in 2013. Though 121 cases were registered against criminals
in the state for giving the police slip, just 77 of them were charge-sheeted
for offence. Most of the cases of prisoners escaping were
noticed in big cities like Mumbai and Pune. According to social activist
Rama Sarode, the figures show that these escapees were those with
connections, status or money.
5. Maharashtra ranks first in cases of injuries to civilians in police firing
(102) and also in civilians killed (34).
6. Currently Crime Prosecution Rate in Maharashtra is just 9% due to
improper investigation, manipulated panchnama, lack of witnesses,
lack of forensic evidence etc.
7. In 2013, total 7,280 complaints were registered against Maharashtra
police personnel.
8. Mumbai police have drawn flaks for losing important files in several
high-profile cases like Adarsh society cases, purchase of sub-standard
bullet-proof jackets etc, thus causing the need of digitising their
records.

3. 9. Celebrated playback singer Asha Bhosle had also criticized
Maharashtra traffic police's lack of civility in 2011. While accepting
D.Litt. degree in a function, she had recommended that police should
talk and behave properly and attention should be paid towards their
education.
10. Hours before the gang-rape of a 22 year old photojournalist,
Maharashtra police was rapped on August 22, 2013 for the increasing
incidents of crime against women, particularly assault on women on
local trains and poor progress in Rs. 30 crore of CCTV projects in
Mumbai and Pune even after one year of release.
11. NCRB Director General NK Tripathi had revealed on 20 Jun 2011 that
though underworld don Dawood Ibrahim was in Maharashtra Police's
custody many times in the past, but it does not have records of his
fingerprints, which could have facilitated in taking action against
fugitive in a much better way.
12. Under pseudo-secular ruling govt, Maharashtra police has also been
striving to create this kind of image by harassing Hindus. For
instances:
By isuing an order on July 22, 2014, Pune Police Commissioner Satish
Mathur banned religious ceremonies, idols and pictures in police
stations on the pretext of maintaining secularism and for not being
called as superstitious or biased.
In Azad Maidan riots of August 11, 2012, in which vehicles were
torched, women police were molested and Police, media person and
innocent citizens were beaten up by fanatics, Maharashtra Govt
reduced the recovery from Rs. 2.75 crores to just Rs. 36 lakhs for the
damages caused to national property, just for appeasing the rioters.
In contrast, Wadi (Ratnagiri) police showed their guts by beating the

4. innocent devotees at Shri-Kshetra Jyotiba on March 21, 2014.
Mumbai police arrested Aditya Dubey, organizer of 'Adarsh Ramleela
Samiti' on Oct 7, 2011, as he had broken the rules of noise pollution
while acclaiming the name of Lord Ram in Ramleela. Hence, other
Ramleela organizers also had to arrange for megaphones to maintain
sound level.
'National Green Tribunal' of Mumbai HC had issued an order on 22
Nov 2013 to close down unauthorized Pimpri slaughter-house on
permanent basis, but when cow-devotees opposed the cow slaughter,
40-50 fanatics attacked them on 28 Nov in presence of police. Even
after FIR filing, police nabbed just 2 butchers.
13. Maharashtra govt is unwilling to make the police free from political
intervention. It wants to make it dance on its tune. In 2012 when SI
Sachin Suryavanshi pulled up some errant MLAs while carrying out his
duty, he was assaulted and victimised through several measures.
Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik, was transferred
by politicians for his bold step in diffusing a potential riot.
14. While giving verdict in Prakash Singh Vs UOI case on September 22,
2006, Supreme Court had issued directives for state governments to
initiate 7-point police reforms and ordered to implement it by
December 31, 2006. But, terming directives "unconstitutional" and
merely "recommendations", Maharashtra govt delayed reforms as it
would mean stopping political intervention in the transfers, postings
and promotion of police and would free up the Police from the whims
of politicians. On July 31, 2013, court pulled up govt for not complying
with its order.
SC judgment contained a clause that directives shall be implemented
"till framing of the appropriate legislations". Taking advantage of this
clause, state govt amended Maharashtra Police Act, 1951 and on 14

5. June 2014 passed Maharashtra Police (Amendment) Bill, 2014, which
was against the letter and spirit of SC's directions and tried to retain
existing political control on police force.
Terming the bill as a fraud on the people, Police Reforms Watch and
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative stated that the bill formalizes
excessive political interference in the day-to-day management of
police.
Criticizing the bill, State BJP president and MLA Devendra Fadnavis
stated on June 13, 2014 that the amendment in the Act defeats the
very objective as it gives politicians an upper hand. Fadnavis also
revealed that he had proposed a private member Bill on police
reforms, which was still pending in Assembly. "Even if some of the
recommendations suggested had been incorporated, it would have
ensured more accountability, autonomy and transparency," he said.
15. In "Vision Maharashtra", Devendra Fadnavis has promised to
revolutionize Maharashtra Police force with the vision of "Safe Citizens
Fearless Maharashtra". His dreams and plans to bring police reforms
include the following:
 To change the key objective from "Police is for rulers" to "Police is
for People"
 To implement SC directives for police reform and amend Police
Laws
 To increase Criminal Prosecution Rate up to 50% in 3 yrs
 To set up forensic lab in every district of Maharashtra
 To make convicts undergo severe trial in fastest possible time
 To digitize crime records
 To bifurcate Police dept into Investigation Wing & Law and Order
Wing
 To modernize Police dept by providing Advanced Technology
Systems, Modern Weapons, Modern Detection Systems and
Integrated Crime prevention and Citizen Protection Training

6.  To initiate essential amendments in law to check Cyber crimes and
other Online financial frauds
 To set up CCTV Surveillance system in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur,
Nashik, Aurangabad and Amravati within a year
 To provide every single Police station CCTV coverage
 To improve Police Training Academy and increase its capacity
 To set up Hi-tech Police Force all across Maharashtra by
computerizing and digitizing every Police station, installing "e-FIR"
system in every station, providing "e-Challan" system for state-wide
Traffic police, facility of online FIR filing,
 To set up Women's Police Station in every district of Maharashtra
 To provide proper and hygienic housing for Police Force
 To start special plan for the overall wellbeing of Police Force
including Mental & Physical Fitness, Training, Working Hours and
improvement of standard of living
Author: Aniket Singh
Original Source:
http://thefearlessindian.in/bjp-to-revolutionize-maharashtra-police-force-with-
new-vision-devendra-fadnavis/