Agra cops take no-bribe pledge

A young police officer heading the Agra police has come up with a novel idea to curb corruption among cops, with whom bribery is the order of the day.

Aseem Arun, a 1994  batch Indian Police Service officer posted as deputy inspector general of police in the city of Taj Mahal, made all his subordinates swear a pledge at an open house on Sunday that they would refrain from seeking or accepting bribes with immediate effect.

This was preceded by a seminar attended by all ranks including officers on Friday, when Arun urged them to make a frank confession about the reasons behind their unabated indulgence in bribery.

The cops down the line were candid enough to disclose their 'compelling reasons' that led them to accept bribes.

Broadly listing out five reasons for their indulgence, they said, "The foremost reason was the large scale corruption during recruitment until a few years ago, as those who had shelled out money to get jobs found it convenient to recover that through illegal means."

Besides, they said, "Funds were required for upkeep and maintenance of police stations, and to meet the demand of bribes by departmental seniors for local postings as also cuts demanded by those clearing the TA/DA bills of the cops."

In addition, the common reason given by most of the cops was that they were required to provide hospitality to their seniors visiting the district.

"After all, we are required to make arrangements for boarding and lodging of visiting senior officials and their families. How else do we make up for all that?" was the general sentiment among the cops.

After an open debate and discussion on the issue, Arun, who is the son of Sriram Arun, a reputed former director general of police, called upon his subordinates to make a beginning by swearing an oath that they would shun bribes and corrupt practices.

Asked if he was prompted by the Anna Hazare movement to undertake this unique step, Arun remarked, "Well, I was always keen to find some way to inculcate honesty in our rank and file; so after a heart to heart talk with my men, I thought of trying this experiment and I am quite confident that it will work."

While making the entire Agra police to unanimously resolve neither to take nor to give bribes, Arun has issued an 11-point charter in this regard.

He proposes to also use secret cameras to record corrupt practices by his subordinate staff.

Significantly, all inspectors under the Agra police took a pledge to wipe out organised crime from the district within a period of 10 days. "This organised crime includes gambling dens, satta centres and illicit liquor brewing and trade," Arun pointed out.

Anyone in Agra would henceforth be free to dial 100 for registering a complaint against the cops if they demand a bribe. Such complaints will be attended instantly by senior officials who will take prompt action against erring officials, who would even be liable to be dismissed from service.

Arun asserts, "We will ensure that the complainant's main work is carried out without having to pay any bribe and all complaints relating to corruption would be taken up on top priority."

He said, "Complaints about in-house corrupt practices such as cuts in clearance of bills, etc will be dealt with in a time bound manner."

He has created a helpline to entertain complaints about such internal corrupt practices within the police set up.

Last but not the least, the Agra cops have further taken a vow that instead of extorting money from common citizens, they will seek funds from the government for maintenance and upkeep of police stations.

Image: Deputy inspector general of police Aseem Arun at the ceremony