The commissioner of Kolkata Police, Vineet Goyal, on Sunday instructed all units of the force to brief civic volunteers, home guards and National Voluntary Force personnel on how to “behave” with the public and “talk to women, elderly people”.

The top cop also stressed that a “policy of zero tolerance” would be followed if any “police member” is found breaking the law.

Goyal’s written instructions came two days after a junior doctor was found dead at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, triggering allegations that she had been raped and murdered.

A civic volunteer named Sanjoy Roy has been arrested and charged with rape and murder.

The arrest of a person attached to a disciplined force for such a heinous crime has exposed cracks in the system and rang alarm bells at the city police headquarters, officers said.

Senior officers in Kolkata Police said the commissioner’s instructions mentioned that there is a “need to monitor our own people. We are part of a disciplined force. People look to the police for help. We cannot be seen on the wrong side of the law. This must be clear to one and all. Please brief all down the line including HGs (home guards) and CVs (civic volunteers).”

An officer quoted from the instructions: “There is a need for all officers-in-charge and all others in charge of hospital OPs (outposts) to adequately brief all subordinates on this matter.... They must also be briefed how to behave with public. And how to talk to women, elderly people.”

The instructions say: “There has to be a zero tolerance towards any police member breaking the law. This includes all members of the force including civic volunteers, village police. All must be briefed on this point time and again. Take lawful action and/or departmental action immediately if anyone is found violating law.”

The civic volunteers’ duty is to help cops discharge their responsibilities, including managing traffic, maintaining law and order and securing a crime scene during an
investigation.

However, allegations of high-handedness and corruption frequently surface against civic volunteers, who are accused of abusing their association with the police. There are also allegations that a section of civic volunteers enjoys political patronage.

Officers said the RG Kar incident has prompted the police commissioner to review the functioning of the civic volunteers. Many said the move should have come much earlier.

The instructions issued by the top cop mentioned that security in government hospitals, homes and women’s hostels needs to be reviewed and that there should be more interactions with women doctors and female students in schools and colleges.

“There is a need to interact more with staff of government hospitals including doctors, nurses and others and to convey to them that police are always available to help them. They should not feel insecure. Security aspects of medical colleges/government hospitals are to be reviewed in consultation with in-charges of medical colleges/hospitals,” an officer quoted from the instructions.

The force has been asked to install more CCTV cameras in public spaces and convince private players to install as many cameras as possible on their premises to deter and detect crime.

Hours after the instructions were issued, several police stations started holding meetings to address some basic issues related to women safety.

“The RG Kar incident has changed the way we used to think. We will coordinate with government hospitals in our area and convene meetings at the earliest to address these issues. The same action will be taken in regard to schools and colleges, too,” said an officer in the eastern suburban division of Kolkata Police.

“We have circulated these guidelines to all our officers and men. These
are guiding principles for the police towards women safety and police-public interactions,” Goyal told this newspaper.