Advisory to IPS and HPS officers in the State in the wake of the recent Kullu incident

Advisory to IPS and HPS officers in the State in the wake of the recent Kullu incident

There is no gainsaying that the image of the HP Police has taken a beating after the recent incident of an ugly spat between senior police officers in front of dignitaries at Kullu. It is also obvious that it has undone the cumulative good work by the HP Police during the last one year. Not only has the incident become viral on social media, but it has also elicited a negative and highly uncharitable public response. All efforts in ensuring better service delivery to the public, all the unprecedented drug seizures and all the effort put into fighting the Covid-19 pandemic by the HP Police have been overshadowed by this visibly public sparring of officials.

2. Such conduct is totally unwarranted and undesirable. It is unprofessional to the point of dereliction of duty and also raises issues of compromises in the VVIP security. Therefore, regardless of the outcome of the present inquiry, it is important that we examine all the relevant issues to avoid such incidents in the future.

3. As such, in the aftermath of the aforesaid unfortunate incident, we held a brainstorming session at the PHQ in Shimla on 25/06/2021 with senior police officers. On the basis of detailed deliberations, the following points have emerged for immediate action: –

(a) All police officers must always remain calm and poised, no matter what the provocation is, while interacting with other fellow officers and the general public. Their demeanour during the course of their duties must always be courteous and polite but firm. They should remember that they work for a welfare State and that their primary duty is to serve people and not to lord – over them; and therefore they should never lose their people-connect. An officer’s sense of duty must always precede their sense of entitlement.

(b) All police officers need to ensure high standards of professionalism and graceful conduct. Any conduct unbecoming of an officer in uniform is to be strictly avoided during discharge of duty.

(c) All police officers should identify their ‘blind spots’ or deficiencies in their personalities and address them. They may take help either from a person within the department with whom they are comfortable with or seek professional help. Problems like anger or depression can only be helped, or even addressed, if the person suffering from them is willing to accept that they have the problem to begin with.

(d) All police officers need to learn and maintain proper interpersonal relationships and inculcate an esprit de corps. Nearly all police work is dependent on collaboration and can hardly ever be performed in silos. This is particularly important during public functions, L&O and VVIP duties. Further, we need to understand that we are all professional colleagues in the HP Police, be it a constable or be it the DGP, wearing the same uniform and tied by the same ethos.

(e) All police officers need to learn apply tact and not be unduly technical about guidelines. They often need to respond to crises and situations in real time without any advance preparation. One has to think on one’s feet and be innovative. The general idea is to solve a problem and not to aggravate it.

(f) Henceforth, it should be ensured by Principal PTC that we include in our training curriculum, mock exercises, drills and simulations to train officers for temperance and poise when under duress.

(g) Officers should not be misled or misguided by the halo effect’. Power is always attached to a position and never a person, so they should always be mindful of this gospel.

In a nutshell, I would like to say that such stray incidents not only tarnish the image of HP Police and open us up for ridicule but also completely obliterate the good work done and the goodwill accumulated with years of painstaking efforts. Therefore, we need to strive as a cohesive team to re establish our image and also to ensure that such incidents never happen in the future.

Yours sincerely,

(Sanjay Kundu )IPS Director General of Police. Himachal Pradesh, Shimla.