Racial words in official records to invite disciplinary action

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Police has told the high court that the cops found using words with racial connotation in the official records would face disciplinary action as it amounts to misconduct under the disciplinary rules.

The statement was made following high court rebuking the police for using the term ‘Negro’ while referring to an African person in police documents. The high court had termed the use of derogatory terms like “kala” or “Negro” to address black people of African-origin as highly offensive and unacceptable and asked the state’s director general of police (DGP) to issue instructions and sensitise cops against it. The court had taken note of police using term ‘Negro’ while referring to an African person in the challan papers presented before the trial court in a drugs seizure case. The court was told that the DGP has issued instructions to all investigating officers and other officers in the field to never use offensive or racial words in FIRs and challans etc. Police also told the HC hat the word in question was neither used by cops nor was it part of proceedings prepared by them, but was a disclosure statement of an accused.

The police officials, while recording the statement of complainant/witnesses/accused persons cannot make any changes in the language or narrative version being dictated either by the complainant/witnesses/accused persons, on their own as per the apex court order on recording of evidence, the court was informed. “This aspect needs to be corrected by sanction of the law by ordering strict action against the cops who indulge in this character assassination based on physical features,” the bench of justice RN Raina had said in its June 12 order as it found that “the term ‘Negro’ (was) used while referring to an African national in the challan papers”.