Shame in uniform

The adage power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely is apt for Bihar Police. In a classic case of protectors of law turning into perpetrators, the home guards in Gopalganj opened fire on innocent people injuring 6. Reason: the victims, who had come to identify a dead body in a government hospital, refused to pay bribe. It seems the men in uniform have no respect for the uniform they adorn. This latest incident has caused huge embarrassment for the entire police force. Lying in the emergency ward of Sardar hospital in Patna, Parvez Akhtar (Victim) recounts how he and his family became victims of some policemen drunken rage. Homegaurds at Gopalganj police chowki opened fire on them when they refused to pay bribe. Recounting his experience, Akhtar said:"We had come to take the deadbody of our relative. Why would we try to take the rifles. We saw that all the cops were drunk and empty bottles were all over the place." Meanwhile, the cops who were guilty have been suspended and only one arrest has been made in the case. However, the men in question continue to defend themselves. Defending his stand, Shivshankar Singh, arrested police constable reiterated:” We were sleeping in the guard room when we heard people arguing. There were around 20 of them and when they saw us, they tried to snatch away our rifles. So to defend ourselves, we had to fire in the air. Ironically, this is not the first instance where the men in uniform in the state of Bihar have committed such a heinous crime. In March 2007, TIMES NOW had reported as to how 5 constables of the Railway Police had actually looted passengers. Posing as ticket checkers on the "Patna Express" at Delhi, money and mobile phones of innocent people were stolen. In an another incident, a policemen stood by as mute witness when MLA Ranjan Tiwari hit out at a cameraman as he went into the court, however, no action was taken against the muscle flexing politician.