A Crisis in Police Governance: Caste Discrimination, Corruption, and Accountability
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Indian Polity and Governance (Fundamental Rights - Articles 14, 16; Constitutional safeguards for SCs; Key Legislations - Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989; FIR; Special Investigation Team - SIT).
Mains:
General Studies Paper 1 (Society): Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India; Social empowerment (Challenges related to Caste).
General Studies Paper 2 (Polity & Governance): Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation; Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population; Role of civil services in a democracy.
General Studies Paper 3 (Internal Security): Linkages of organized crime with terrorism (and political-bureaucratic nexus).
General Studies Paper 4 (Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude): Probity in Governance; Ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; Accountability and ethical governance; Aptitude and foundational values for Civil Service (impartiality, integrity, compassion towards weaker sections). This is a very important case study for GS Paper 4.
Key Highlights from the News
The senior IPS officer and Inspector General of Police from Haryana, Y. Puran Kumar, died by suicide.
In his suicide note, he alleged that the reason for his death was continuous caste-based discrimination and mental harassment from senior officers, including the Haryana DGP.
Puran Kumar was a Scheduled Caste (SC) officer.
Based on his wife's complaint, the police registered an FIR against the senior officers under the strict provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
A Counter-Allegation: Just before his suicide, an FIR had been registered against one of Puran Kumar's staff members for demanding extortion from a liquor contractor.
A Twist in Developments: An Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI Sandeep Lather) from the team investigating the extortion case also died by suicide, alleging that Puran Kumar was corrupt and was unnecessarily giving the case a caste angle.
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