Raise your voice

It is ironical that the common man in Bengaluru is as scared of cops as he is of crooks. Victims of crimes dread the idea of going to a police station and would rather live with their loss than undergo the "ordeal" of lodging an FIR. This is despite the efforts and assurances of the top cops that people can directly meet the senior officer if junior officers refuse to help. Even the educated class shies away from approaching the khaki-clad men (or women).

But why such an apprehension? Because from experience and word of mouth accounts, the common man knows that s/he will have to run from pillar to post just to lodge the complaint, forget about getting justice.

A recent instance to illustrate my point:
A fellow journalist was riding his bike when a car hit him. The car driver absconded before anyone could stop him. After some days, I visited my friend and casually asked if he had lodged an FIR. I was shocked to know that he hadn't. And the reason ufffd the traffic cop, who was a witness to the hit-and-run incident, advised my friend against lodging an FIR. The cop told him that if he had noted the vehicle number then he may complain, and if not, then he should "just forget about the whole thing". And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
It is important for people to feel empowered, raise their voices and not give up until they are heard. Only then will there be a change for good

Inspite of everything, I feel that people should keep faith in their efforts. There are some police bigwigs who are doing their best to make the police force transparent and efficient.
A printing press owner went to file a complaint when his minor son eloped and married a girl twice his age. The police shooed him away citing that it was au00a0 case of eloping and since the son is minor, the marriage is void. Determined to take the case to a logical end, he pulled a few strings and got in touch with a police officer who could get his complaint registered.
Finally when he approached the police, they agreed to file a complaint, but asked him to pay up Rs 200 towards the expenses of paper and pen which were needed to write the complaint.

Despite all this, city police Chief SM Bidari claims that the Bangalore cops are best in the world at least in terms of crime detection and recovery.
But, this is again a debatable issue. Although they claim to be the best police in terms of recovery, I wonder how much the victims get back.
I feel that it is very important for people to feel empowered especially in a democratic society,u00a0 raise their voices and not give up until they are heard. Only then will there be a change for the better.