Published On : Wed, Feb 13th, 2019

Awful trend: Second Capital witnesses alarming attacks on cops in past one week

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Nagpur: Men in Khaki are in distress. It was awful to see videos and photographs showing unruly youths and goons as well assaulting cops in Second Capital City of Nagpur. The past week witnessed four incidents in which cops including a Woman Police Sub-Inspector, traffic cops and other police personnel finding themselves at the receiving end.

The headlines screamed “Four family members abuse, thrash Woman PSI on duty in Hudkeshwar, arrested,” “Live video: Auto drivers thrash traffic cops at Ganeshpeth Bus Stand,” “On duty traffic cop beaten up by unruly youth at Samvidhan Square,” “Group of hooligans go on rampage, damage police van, heckle cops in Mankapur.” The past week attacks on cops did not tell the sordid tale of the rot plaguing the society and the police force. In November last year, a constable attached to Jaripatka Police Station was stabbed by a miscreant for asking to come in line at a petrol pump.

These recent incidents show the audacity of the mischievous elements to take on the uniformed police force, displaying scant respect for the custodians of law. This is indeed a very disturbing trend warranting immediate curb. Although the accused assailants have been arrested for dastardly acts, the question remains where did they derive their audacity and strength from? Significantly, this pattern of repeated assaults is not new in Maharashtra. There are numerous cases of assault on khaki in the recent past.

For the sake of record, 69 policemen were attacked on duty over various reasons in city in 2017 as against 66 in year 2016. The 69 attacked cops include total of 97 government employees who faced wrath in the year 2017. Traffic police, too, have been subjected to many such attacks recently. The reason is a blatant lack of respect for the police. The fear of the law does not seem to deter goons and they attack cops.