Jharkhand director-general of police M.V. Rao on Tuesday expressed shock over three deaths in the state during the lockdown, saying a more sensitive approach by the cops could have averted the tragedies.
Such candour is rare for any high-ranking official in a state where allegations of government mess-ups – such as cries of hunger deaths due to public distribution system failure -- are rarely, if ever, acknowledged.
“No words to express my anguish about the horrific insensitivity of a few personnel@ Jharkhand Police. Three incidents have spoiled the outstanding performance of thousands of officers and men. Need to look into the underlying causes and take corrective measures. We shall overcome,” DGP Rao tweeted on Tuesday morning.
The incidents include the one on Monday in Ranchi in which a pregnant woman from Hindpiri was not allowed to go to hospital by police, resulting in her having to deliver at home and the baby dying within half a hour.
Another incident the DGP referred to occurred on April 8 in Jamshedpur in which Vicky Mahto, 26, died when he fell into a pond after cops eager to punish a lockdown violator chased him in the Telco police station area. Mahto, out to buy groceries, had stopped for a chat with a friend near the water body.
The third incident Rao referred to occurred in Hazaribagh on April 9 in which Sobatia Devi, 50, died of a heart attack after police hurriedly reached a village market, Darhi Bazar under Giddi police station area, to enforce the lockdown.
According to her son Vikas Kumar, Sobatia ran at the sight of the cops. “After she stopped and sat at a place, she felt uneasy. Police took her to hospital but she died,” Kumar said.
Requested to elaborate on his tweet, DGP Rao told The Telegraph on Tuesday that all three incidents could have been avoided.
“These incidents are like putting poison in a pitcher of milk. This could have been avoided by showing a little sensitivity as at none of the places police had any intention to harm people. Before going into a market, if some warning is given through the public address system proper results can be achieved without creating any panic,” Rao said.
“These incidents have come at a time police personnel have presented themselves as true friends of the people by arranging for meals at police stations and by bridging the gap between the police and the public,” he added.
The state's top police officer said he had briefed all his men that a message should reach everyone in the society – that the police are here to help them.
When TheTelegraph contacted Hazaribagh superintendent of police (SP) Mayur Patel Kanhiya Lal, he said the incident was the result of a minor misunderstanding.
“Police had removed the market but it was set up a second time. Thus when police reached, those present there became terrified anticipating tough action by police while the police had no such intention,” the SP said.
Contacted for comment on the incident in Ranchi, senior superintendent of police (SSP) Anish Gupta said he had suspended sub-inspector Deepak Kumar Rai for not following set protocol.
If the sub-inspector had reported the matter to the control room where one doctor, one magistrate and police personnel are sitting round the clock for assistance, this could have been avoided. Though everyone has been briefed about the standard operating procedure, it was not followed. Dialling for an ambulance was another option,” SSP Gupta said.
