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STATES: BIHAR
Humour In Uniform
Bihar's top policeman is wielding an unlikely weapon
to enforce order
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TICKLE-TAMING: Like Laloo (below), Prasad
uses buffoonery to advantage
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Levity may seem
an unlikely weapon to whip a lawless state into order, but Bihar's Director-General
of Police R.R. Prasad couldn't be bothered with such inane details. He
is too busy inculcating restraint in a state prone to bouts of anarchy
and lending a semblance of character to the 76,000-strong police force.
Comparison with the much-revered RJD chief Laloo
Yadav has been inevitable: Prasad revels in delivering his comments in
heavy Bhojpuri accent and a bombast that reminds one of Bollywood dialogues.
So during the April 2001 panchayat elections he assured the terror-struck
villagers: "Aap ghabraiye mat. Police ki bandook chup nahi rahegi,
golian khatam nahi hongi (Don't worry, the police guns won't be silent.
There will be no dearth of bullets)." And when an officer suffered
bullet injuries in the stomach, the DGP philosophised: "Pet bara
zalim hota hai, goli bhi pacha jayega (The stomach is cruel. It will
digest even a bullet)."
On another occasion, his reassuring bluster
was directed at a bevy of Patna businessmen fed up with paying rangdari
tax to politico-criminals: "Main waada karta hun unko bahar nikal
kar janta ke beech khara kar dunga aur aap se kahunga ki in longon ne
apka jeena haram kiya hai, jo chahe kar lo (I promise I will find
these criminals and hand them over to you and you can do whatever you
want to do with them)."
Quixotic, some would call him. But the verbal
flailing is not without reason. "If I were to adopt official channels
to communicate with the entire force it would take months to reach the
lowest level," says the man who took over the reins in December last
year. So he spouts media-hogging one-liners that get instant attention
and filter down the official hierarchy with ease.
There is, of course, the pitfall of being ridiculed
by his subordinates, which has happened on more than one occasion. But
then there are also officials who are eager to adopt his mannerisms, and
inspired by his behaviour, take the initiative. "I may appear to
be funny but have made it clear at every level that the system can no
longer tolerate shams," says the man who began his career as a commissioned
army officer. The point has registered well with officials. Says Bihar
Police Association President K.K. Jha: "Bihar's administrative system
does not allow the proper functioning of the police force. Perhaps this
is the reason he has adopted the new style of communicating with the police
and public."
Prasad also plans to initiate reforms in the
force, including the practice of subordinates writing confidential reports
on seniors for a fair appraisal by the government. That the DGP loves
to tread on thin ice is obvious from the fact that he refuses security
escort while inspecting police stations alone at night.
During one of his journeys in the Naxalite-infested
areas, Prasad stopped at sensitive places and publicly ordered the destruction
of at least five villages adjacent to the spot where landmines were laid.
It worked. "If a police officer will not use brave words, who will?"
he asks. This is the man who dares to openly rebuke the dreaded dons saying
the police would not intervene if the people exacted revenge from them.
He is also the man who exhorts his officials to change the force's image.
And yet, like Laloo, Prasad believes Bihar is
more sinned against than sinning: he deftly brandishes the National Crime
Bureau statistics to claim that the state ranks way down in the number
of assorted cognisable offences. The figures may be right but not many
are convinced. Convincing may take a while, but if Prasad's tactics succeed,
he may yet have the last laugh.
—Farzand Ahmed
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