Editor,
May I ask our respected DGP why his traffic policemen are biased when it comes to laying down the law? I read in your paper that 2088 cars had their tinted films removed until Wednesday. The question is, how many of these were Government vehicles and belong to the political class? Till this evening I still saw ML01 cars cruising along with very dark tinted films right past the noses of these traffic cops. And this is not the only instance. Even in heavy traffic where overtaking has been banned by the very same DGP, all ML01 and ML02 cars are allowed to honk their way past the waiting lines of cars while the traffic cops (including the highway patrol) look the other way. But let a common man drive in the same manner and all hell breaks loose! The traffic cops descend on the offending vehicle like a swarm of angry hornets and abuse the driver in filthy language. In this respect, the highway patrols are the worst because they think they have the license to abuse people in the filthiest of words even for a minor mistake. Sometimes one wonders whether one is dealing with cops or thugs in uniform! What kind of police force is our DGP heading? Do the citizens deserve to be treated like criminals for minor traffic offences? And why are traffic cops never seen disciplining local taxis who are the worst offenders? The way the police department is run smacks of extreme high-handedness and bias in favour of the elite class.
Yours etc.,
Robert Tanti
Shillong
Crackdown on tinted glasses
Editor,
The State Police Department has cracked down on vehicles having tinted glasses to comply with the recent directive issued by the Supreme Court of India. Let us cherish the fact that our city is witnessing much better days now, relative to the past in terms of economy, development, civil security and peace. People are comfortable to move out of their homes in the evenings for various engagements. Markets and commercial areas bustle with activity till late evening. We can see increased inflow of both domestic and foreign tourists to our beautiful hill state and we take pride that Shillong is one of the safest hill stations to visit and vacationed in. We can also notice the growing number of women motorists in the city which points to the increased independence of our women folk. These are positive indicators of our city progressing and demonstrating the potential for business and economic growth largely attributed to the prevalent peace and security.
Drawing a broader picture, we can’t deny the fact that both conditions of “With Tinted Glasses” and “Without Tinted Glasses” have their own benefits and risks. What concerns me, however, are the following issues:-
1) Was there any risk assessment done by the State Police before going ahead with the crackdown order on vehicles with tinted glasses?
2) What are the preparations made or strategic training imparted to control and mitigate the potential risks involved or attributed to the “Without Tinted Glasses” condition?
This “Without Tinted Glasses” condition has a flip side and opens various great threats to the security and safety of the motorists and occupants especially the women folk who drive alone after sunset. They will be exposed to potentially hazardous situations and can become soft targets to gangs/ miscreants who bear undue agendas. I am not convinced that removal of tinted glasses will effectively stop crimes like drunk driving, robbery, kidnapping etc (as was justified), for a person(s) who plan to commit such crimes will have meticulously prepare himself/themselves to take cover by some other means. In fact, this condition will place him/them in an advantageous position as it will enable him/them to spot soft targets, stalk and execute his/their crime. Moreover, crimes like car theft will surely rise now considering that miscreants can again spot items inside the vehicle with ease and thereby facilitating their calculation on how to sneak them out without much fuss.
I, therefore, stress on the need for a proper risk assessment keeping in mind all the possible risks before the STP move ahead with its crackdown operation and also to invite feedback from the public as this has heavy implications regarding the safety of one and all. We cannot be forced to be exposed to risky situations especially when we don’t yet know the risks consequences (in lieu of a proper risk assessment) and the capacity of the police to mitigate such risks. How can we be sure that this crackdown will bear expected results? And the big question is what if it boomerangs? A risks situation may lead to an unwanted, unwarranted incident. We can even state that if the risks situations persist then an untoward situation is inevitable. If the state police have not done the pre- risk assessment yet, I feel it is very premature to go ahead with the crackdown.
My other concern is whether there are any additional preparations and specific training imparted to the police personnel to handle and mitigate the potential risks in this changed scenario. I seek for a contingency plan in case the crackdown order boomerangs, I therefore call on a proactive approach that makes provisions for a holistic view of all bearing factors otherwise it will be like walking blind folded and leaving the fate of each step to chance. We need a system to add value and contribute to peace and public security not one that undermines it.
My intention is never to contest the directive of the Supreme Court of India. I feel that to adopt any principle it is always best to fine tune it by setting it in harmony with the local requirements and conditions because only then will the real value addition come about.
Yours etc.,
Ericson Nonghuloo
Via email