Retired IPS officer AB Venkateswara Rao said that police reforms are possible only if people mobilize with awareness and make police reforms a priority in the election manifesto, thereby creating political will, which would ensure rule of law.
Participating as the chief guest in a discussion forum on police reforms held under the auspices of Jana Chaitanya Vedika in Guntur, he said that out of the lakhs of people languishing in jails today, more than 85 percent are undertrial prisoners from the poor sections.
He made it clear that justice can be provided to all by doubling the number of courts, thereby reducing crimes without resorting to third degree, with proof of crime. He said that speedy justice is possible only if the skills of the police are improved and modern technological developments are provided, and criminal investigation is separated from criminal investigation.
The former intelligence chief said that Singapore, which was liberated from Britain along with us, is at the top of the police systems, and this has been possible only through political will. He demanded a judicial inquiry into all the atrocities committed by the previous government and legal action taken against those responsible.
AB Venkateswara Rao expressed concern that it was inhumane to publicly torture three youths in Tenali recently and intentionally put the video in front of the public to create panic among the people. He demanded that action be taken against the concerned police officers.
He said that if the state governments have strong political will and sincerity, they can bring about 75 percent reforms with the existing staff and resources without any additional expenditure. On the one hand, if the state budget is Rs. 2.5 lakh crore, on the other hand, it is regrettable that the state government is not ready to spend at least Rs. 1000 crore for changes in the police system and to provide speedy justice to the poor.
Presiding over the meeting, Jana Chaitanya Vedika State President Vallamreddy Lakshman Reddy alleged that the police machinery in Andhra Pradesh has become a private army of the ruling party. He said that the police are acting at the field level in the eyes of the ruling party leaders, which is disrupting the rule of law.
Former MLC K.S. Lakshmana Rao said that today there is an atmosphere where common people are afraid to go to the police station and explain their problems and asked for parent-friendly police to come. Eminent educationist Prof. D. A. R. Subramaniam, said that out of lakhs of candidates competing, only hundreds are succeeding as IAS and IPS, and he questioned how democracy can flourish if they are also slaves to the ruling party.