Bhaskar Rao, AAP leader and former ADGP of Bengaluru, stated on Sunday that if police officials had been given free hand, there would have been no violence.
He told reporters in Dharwad on Sunday that police officers who received transfers through the recommendations of local legislators tend to show more loyalty to politicians who helped them out than to their superiors in the department.
Rao, when asked about the recent violence in Hubli, remarked, “Several police officials are loyal to local MLAs and follow their order instead of their superiors. This leads to lack of discipline in the department. Police officials would maintain law and order better if politicians weren’t involved.”
Rao went on to say that this would lead to a lack of discipline and professionalism in police work, and that if they were left to themselves, they would have effectively controlled crime and maintained peace and order. Politicians’ intervention and police officers’ succumbing to it, he added, turned things chaotic.
Politicians who make controversial statements for political gain, according to Rao, typically pit two communities against each other, further disrupting peace and order.
He believes that the transfer of police officers should be left entirely in the hands of the department’s superiors, and that everything will fall into place on its own if that’s done.
He was quoted speaking on the matter, “Most of the policemen take the help of politicians to get transfers. This leads to chaos in the system. The transfer of officials must be left to the superiors. Politicians must also refrain from making statements that disturb the communal harmony of the state. This will lead to endless fights between the communities and create unrest in the society.”
