Turmoil in the twilight of a quiet career
Delhi Police Commissioner, Amulya Patnaik, finds himself in the uncomfortable — and rare — position of being the target of anger from his own force.
Many among the junior officers and subordinates — constables, head constables and assistant sub-inspectors — who comprise the bulk of the force and are its public face, are questioning Patnaik’s leadership openly.
Thousands of them attended, or supported, a protest outside police headquarters on Tuesday over repeated acts of violence against them by lawyers in two different city courts. They have been persuaded to return to work for now.
That Patnaik’s response to the violent clashes was disappointing was clear. “We get assaulted on duty and our seniors then agree to follow court orders to suspend us without even trying to convince the court to not take such an action or to take a similar one against the lawyers too,” said one of the protesting constables.
The mild-mannered 1985-batch IPS officer finds himself attracting unwanted attention, something he has consciously stayed away from all along. His clean image and reputation of keeping a low profile had helped him pip two seniors, Dharmendra Kumar and Deepak Mishra, to the post.
Since taking over in January 2017, Patnaik has been extremely guarded. He barely gives interviews unlike his predecessors Neeraj Kumar or
B S Bassi. In those few interactions, too, his responses have been measured and he has steered clear of speaking on two contentious cases — the Sundanda Puskhar death case and the disappearance of JNU Student Najeeb Ahmed.
In that sense, he is closer in style to his immediate predecessor Alok
Kumar Verma who even did away with the annual press conference. The tradition resumed under Patnaik but with the police chief sidestepping most of the difficult questions.
But when it comes to dealing with his men in the force, Patnaik is said to be far more approachable than Verma.
He has to his credit welfare measures too. During his stint as commissioner, police canteens were opened in all districts. He is also said to have played an instrumental role in awarding 25,000 promotions in one go during Verma’s tenure.
There are many, however, who believe that neither those initiatives nor the easy going nature can compensate for the empathy that the leader of a force should have and the firmness he should display at critical junctures. Like many of his officers in Tis Hazari, last week, Patnaik himself has had a major episode of facing mob fury. In 1994, he sustained a “grave injury” when a mob turned violent during a rally.
Some also attribute the police chief ’s “disheartening” response to his relative lack of experience in more active policing roles, and say that he fails to appreciate what a policeman goes through. Prior to taking over the reins, Patnaik was the special commissioner (administration) and before that, he was heading the vigilance wing — roles considered relatively dormant.
Even outside the Delhi Police, he has spent most of his time in the Special Protection Group (SPG) meant for VVIP security. During his stint as an inspectorgeneral in the SPG, he is credited with the planning and managing the security of the lone train journey undertaken by then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2003.
His CV has some notable detections such as the parcel bomb case, arresting a Bombay blast accused and a kidnaping case in Sarita Vihar, which was solved in 12 hours, most of them dating back to the 1990s. His last major “active” stint in Delhi Police was as the joint commissioner (Crime Branch) and then the southern range. As the joint CP (crime), he was instrumental in launching the anti-obscene calls cell and the anti-stalking cell.
An alumnus of Cuttack’s Ravenshaw College (now University), Patnaik first came to Delhi to complete his masters from Delhi University. His elder brother, a bureaucrat, inspired him to crack the
UPSC. In later years, he served in different cadre states and has headed the police force in Mizoram.
But barely three months from retirement, Patnaik could not have thought of a worse possible twilight of a rather non-controversial career where placards with messages such as “We miss you Kiran Bedi” and “We need heroes like Kiran Bedi and Deepak Mishra” comparing Patnaik unfavourably with the two retired officers were displayed during the protest.
Some in the group even booed Patnaik, shouting “Go back!” when he was addressing them during the protest. “We have to behave like a disciplined force. The government and the people expect us to uphold the law, it is our big responsibility. I urge you to resume duty” was Patnaik’s appeal. But it failed to impress.
Some among the rank and file point out that Patnaik failed to visit the nearly two dozen policemen injured in the Tis Hazari clash.
Some attribute the simmering anger to similar instances in the recent past when Patnaik did not meet the family members of a police officer allegedly murdered by a bootlegger in the Trans Yamuna area. Or when he failed to stand by two of his men when they were dismissed for assaulting a tempo driver and his minor son in Mukherjee Nagar.
Patnaik’s supporters in the Delhi Police say that handling lawyers is a sensitive matter and that the tactful Patnaik was following court orders to prevent a further escalation.
With the crisis still unfolding, it’s not clear which impression of Patnaik will prevail.