Helpline number, inclusion in police unable to address issue

Several measures were initiated recently by the police for the safety of citizens from the Northeast States living in the Capital, but few have resulted in making this vulnerable group any safer. Below par implementation of measures and other complexities are to be blamed for this.

For instance, soon after the death of a young man from Arunachal Pradesh, Nido Tania, a helpline number 1093 was set up. The helpline has received 368 calls since it started and based on those complaints 69 cases have been registered so far.

Police sources said the helpline has its own limitations which delay the response time. For starters, it does not have an electronic recording system like the police assistance number 100. Here the operator receives the call, jots down the complaint and then informs the Police Control Room, thus making the process longer.

Simultaneously, a Special Cell had also been created for people from the Northeast but with no real administrative or functional power; it is more or less toothless. Its role is largely limited to monitoring criminal cases.

Earlier this year, the Union Home Ministry had ordered inclusion of more personnel from the Northeast in the Delhi Police and the force had started deployment at the lower constabulary level. However, the present strength of such policemen in a force of over 85,000 is a meagre 41 and even among those, few are posted in police stations and may actually get to visit a scene of crime.

The police had also told the Delhi High Court that people from the region were not interested in joining the city police on deputation and direct recruitment was the only way out. In their bid to give themselves a more cosmopolitan face, the Delhi Police had set up an examination centre for the recruitment of constables in all parts of the country. Among the many cities was Guwahati. However, officers themselves admit that the drive was not well publicised and only 40 applicants took the test there.