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Bihar cops launch ‘dugdugi drive’ to flush out law evaders!
Strange are the ways things happen in Bihar. When the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar does not lose an opportunity to beat drum and sing paeans about Bihar’s development and growth story, his police officials in the state capital are beating the trodden path of the British era to flush out and catch the evading criminals. It sounds hilarious; but the cops in Patna these days are seen moving with drum-beaters to nab the long-time eluders and catching public attention with ridicule.
The ‘innovative’ strategy devised by the Patna Senior Superintendent of Police, Alok Kumar has been lifted upfront from the leaf of history when the kings and the viceroys used to send dugdugi wallahs (drum-beaters) in certain localities to pass on their message meant for the general people. Apparently propelled by his desire to do something original and innovative, the Patna SSP who recently was brought back on deputation from parent Jammu and Kashmir cadre devised the musical path to launch ‘dugdugi drive’ to flush out those absconding criminals against whom the warrant of arrest order has been pending for a long time.
“The aim is to make people of the locality and the house aware about the warrant pending against those who have been evading arrest for long periods of time. We seek family members’ as well as neighbors’ cooperation in the absconders’ arrest,” Patna SSP, Alok Kumar told Eastern Panorama.
The drive presently is going on in the Patna district alone but will be started in other districts as well, he added. The list of absconders against whom the ‘Red Warrant’ (long time pending warrant) is issued comprises names of over 2000 criminals.
Through the ‘dugdugi drive’, the police also warn the family members as well as neighbours not to protect the evaders anymore.
However, the list of arrested through this ‘dugdugi drive’ has not been encouraging as yet but the Patna district police chief has not lost all hope as yet.
“We succeeded in nabbing altogether 10 absconders from different localities yet and the response of the people has been very good,” he said.
Meanwhile, for the local people, this practice by the Patna police has become a ‘tamasha’ or entertainment. When the police officials visited some of the localities of the state capital like Kankerbagh, Paliganj, Kadam Kuan, Jakkanpur, Dulhin Bazar and Phulwarisharief, people there gathered around them more for the entertainment value.
“Do you think that through this ‘dugdugi’ beating they will be able to catch any criminals in Bihar or the people would dare to give them any clue about them…its all more of a ‘tamasha’ than a genuine effort to catch the criminals,” said criminals lawyer Sharvan Kumar of Kankerbagh colony.
Retired professor Dr. U C Sinha also is skeptical. “It’s a foolish idea to catch the absconding criminals… a sheer waste of time and money. I bet they will not be able to catch even a single evader through this dugdugi drive,” he said while throwing a puckish smile on his wrinkled face.
However, the Patna SSP Alok Kumar is not convinced. He gave examples of three long time evading criminals from Kadam Kuan locality of the capital who were arrested when the local people tipped off the police about them once the ‘dugdugi’ drive was launched in the area.
Shankar Sao, Manoj Sao and Phulki Devi were evading arrest for a long time in an ‘attempt to murder’ case but the local people were not aware about their criminal records, said the Patna police. “After our ‘dugdugi’ drive, a tea stall owner tipped us off about them and we manage to arrest them,” the police said.
Gradually, people will come to know about the purpose of the drive and later on the success rate of nabbing the absconders too will increase, stated the police officials.
“For many absconders, the social stigma and criticism is a bit too much to handle and they will surrender for fear of social boycott,” explained the Patna SSP, Alok Kumar.
It is not the first time that the Bihar police have come out with such weird and bizarre ideas to invite mock and criticism. A couple of years ago another senior police officer, Arvind Pandey during his short tenure as the Deputy Inspector General in north Bihar’s Tirhut Division too had innovated such an idea apparently to hog the media limelight. He had placed a huge bell named the ‘Jahangiri bell’ outside his official bungalow at Muzaffarpur which allowed distressed people to ring it and apprise him of their problems.
His idea too got wide publicity in the local media while needy villagers made beelines at odd hours, ringing the bell and seeking his immediate intervention. However, before he could give a proper hearing to the ringing bell, the media stopped giving space to the issue and he was transferred.
Similar was the creepy and vague idea of a Patna Municipal official some years back when he pressed some ‘kinnars’ (eunuchs) into municipal tax collection drive in the state capital. Under this practice a group of ‘kinnars’ used to visit residences of those not paying the municipal taxes to the government for long periods of time and embarrass them with their dancing and singing in front of their doorways. It was a ploy to embarrass and stigmatize those not paying the municipal taxes to the government, said the officer but after some media hype and coverage the practice fizzled out apparently with no significant return.
“Such wacky and impractical ideas in the name of ‘innovation and experiment’ by the officials does not hold any meaning in today’s modern times. They are just gimmicks from their part to hog media attention and nothing else as they usually fizzle out after media coverage in a day or two with no result at all,” says eminent social scientist Sacchindra Narayan Sinha.
Taken in another way, said young and famous criminal lawyer of Patna High Court Soni Srivastva, the drum beaters in the localities of absconding criminals create fear psychosis among the residents. “It even uplifts their market value in society…this can not be the way to apprehend the law evaders,” she said.
However, the Patna police appear to be undaunted and unfazed with what the society at large has to say on their practice of ‘dugdugi drive’ to flush out Red Warrantees. “We’ll continue this drive until we arrest all those figured in the list of absconders,” said Patna SSP.
However, for the time being, the ‘dugdugi drive’ in the Bihar capital has caught the attention and curiosity of the local people. The young and old gather around the drum beaters and the street children can be seen dancing in merriment for some time but once the music stops, the crowd disperses in no time with the law evaders sitting safe in their hideouts with beaming smiles on their faces.
With Nitish Kumar aspiring and perspiring hard to register Bihar on the development radar, such ridiculous ‘innovative & original’ ideas from his officials drum up the people in the wrong way.
Amarnath Tewary
