Despite all his sincerity and commitment to deliver, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has not been able to tame the brazenly insensitive UP policemen whose callous attitude towards common people has already begun to cause much embarrassment to his barely two-month old government.
Two such incidents over the past 24 hours have put the Akhilesh Yadav government on the backfoot.
While the first case was that of a deputy inspector general of police showing utter disregard to the plea of a kidnapping victim's father, in the other case it was a district superintendent of police.
According to reports, when 45- year old Shaukeen went up to Saharanpur DIG Satish Kumar Mathur with his complaint against local cops who had not cared to even register his complaint about kidnapping of his teenaged daughter, the officer flatly told him, "It is a matter of shame that you are coming to me with this complaint. If I were in your place, I would have either shot myself or shot my daughter."
Close on the heels of this case came in reports of Sant Kabir Nagar SP Dharmendra Yadav , who was heard saying openly at the district magistrate's weekly review meeting, "Nearly 70 per cent girls of this district are missing ; now I can either look for them, or track down criminals."
He was alleged to have made the remark after the district magistrate drew his attention to increasing complaints about kidnapping of girls in the area.
No sooner than the two stories were flashed across some TV channels, the entire government machinery was shaken from its slumber. Eventually State Additional Director General (Law and order) Jagmohan Yadav was detailed to explain to mediapersons that both the cases were blown out of proportion.
"I checked up with the Saharanopur DIG, who denied having made any irresponsible remark" Yadav told mediapersons Wednesday afternoon. "The DIG was sympathetic towards the complainant whom he simply told that under such situations sometime fathers shoot themselves in frustration," he pointed out.
He claimed, "A case of kidnapping has now been registered and the father of the girl is fully satisfied with the police action."
As for the second incident, the additional DG sought to laugh it off.
"It was certainly uncalled for on the part of a SP to be talking like that; but I don't think he could have actually meant it. Yet, we will have it looked into and see that such incidents are not repeated", he observed.
