By Marcellus D’Souza

Apr 29: If you succeed to get the police to listen to you, the citizen, you will fail. The police is a law unto themselves. They interpret the law enshrined in the Constitution or the Indian Penal Code (IPC ) as per their whims and fancy. They are never found ‘on duty’ when most needed. If you are poor and uneducated the cops care a hoot about the problems faced by the common man and only carter to the needs of the rich and famous.

Citizens are dreaded to visit the police station and fear the consequences. Very often people are treated shabbily and are not listened to. FIR’s have the police interpretation of the case and what is crucial is not recorded by the Police Inspector or the ‘writer’. People are made to look like the accused when in fact they are the complainant.

This is the general perception of the police in the country.
All this is soon going to change. At least in Goa. Goa police has launched a new initiative — ‘Samadhan’ . This initiative will be launched on Saturday.
‘Samadhan’ aims to give the people a listening ear and helping them find an appropriate solution for their grievances. Those with pending complaints will be called to find a solution.

The brainchild of Director General of Police (DGP) Jaspal Singh people is invited to the police station on Saturday between 11am and 2 pm along with the sub division police officer (SDPO) to discuss the issue. They can choose the officer they would want to hear their complaint and find an amicable solution. The array of officers include Superintendent of Police (SP) and Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySPs).
DGP Jaspal Singh said it has come to his notice that people are unable to meet the SPs and DySPs and so they instead approach the DGP to get their issues resolved. “I have made it mandatory so that people can meet the DySP at the police station,” Singh said.

Jaspal Singh, a 1966 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) took over as DGP on 31 March 2022. An officer from the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre, he was earlier serving as Special Commissioner of Police, Delhi Police.

In May 2017, Singh was posted in Goa as inspector general of police (IGP) and completed almost three years during his tenure. He was assigned the charge of the security sensitive ‘New Delhi Range’ where Parliament and the Prime Minister’s residence are situated.

In 2002, Singh was posted to Goa where first as assistant superintendent of police of the anti-narcotic cell (ANC), then as additional SP traffic, followed additional SP South and later SP South.

He has 12-years field experience and as deputy director in the intelligence bureau, he handled a critical assignment for five years.

Singh was nominated as a member of the University Senate while he was a student by the Governor of Punjab for excellence in academics. He graduated with honours in economics and is a law graduate of Delhi University. He also holds a post graduation degree in Computer applications.