Road Rages Cases Are Not Faced In Pune City: Police Commissioner Amitabh Gupta

Pune Police Commissioner Amitabh Gupta Interacts With Young Lawyers From ASM Civil Rights Law Practice Group

Pune, 14th October 2021: A group of lawyers from ASM Civil Rights Law Practice led by directors Adv Anirodha Mishra and Adv Saloni Mishra interacted with Pune Police Commissioner Amitabh Gupta.

 Adv Anirodha Mishra discussed the following points: 

• Upgradation of Police Lines with the help of PWD & raising funds via CREDAI & Builders association under CSR Funding. Also, these funds can be arranged from the reserved fund with MP and MLA quota apart from CREDAI & other sources 

• To provide career guidance to the children of police personnel.

• To provide legal assistance for police personnel such as consultation for property related matters & help them solve cases of false allegation against them.

• To arrange for proper diet plans by expert dieticians of the Pune city, who are willing to come forward & extent their services for the Police Personnel.

• To organize events like Cricket match, Singing, Mock Parliament & Debates for encouraging the police personnel’s hobbies & talent.

Young lawyers held discussions with the city police chief.

Adv. Purshottam Jadhav: How to reach out to the victims of sexual offences especially the underprivileged?

CP Amitabh Gupta: It is very hard for us to reach the victims, where most of them are children. If they are underprivileged, they do not directly contact the police but come through NGOs or present themselves after a long period. NGOs help us to reach these victims and we make sure we extend our best helping hand towards them. 

Adv.Sunidhi: Career choice made by Amitabh Gupta to choose Indian Police Service and not IIT?    

CP Amitabh Gupta: I wanted to become a doctor as my family has a doctor background. After my 10th, I was confused that which field I should opt for, so I opted for both mathematics and biology and later got selected in mathematics which led me into joining IIT Kanpur. Losing interest, I found Indian Police Service (IPS) very interesting and later I joined to serve our nation.

Adv Rohan Gandhi: Has our government provided police officials with the latest and advanced technology to tackle cyber-crime cases?  

CP Amitabh Gupta: The police officials upgrade their skills every six months or a year and use the latest and advanced technology to tackle cyber-criminals. We also take expert advice in some high profile and big cases. 

Adv. Suvarna Kale: How can the execution of warrants and summons be streamlined? (At present due to lack of police staff it has not been prompt)

CP Amitabh Gupta: It is been streamlined and there is no pendency of execution, it is going on smoothly. We are doing service of summons through online modes like email and WhatsApp and they are considered by courts. These modes save time and ensure the service of warrants on time.

Adv Mandeep Kaur: Is there misuse of favourable sections/Acts by women like section 498 of IPC, Domestic Violence Acts?

CP Amitabh Gupta: Police have become very defensive as there is no proof of any complaint or evidence. It is usually made after many years and the law is quite protective against women, but we still look into it and try to find the truth.

Adv. Parth Chanchlani: Procedure to keep the offenders in custody for more than 24 hours who are to be handed over to the out of state police.  

CP Amitabh Gupta: The custody may be kept with the state police for additional time by order of the judicial magistrate. Transitional application for the transfer of the custody of the offender to out of state police.

Adv. Karan Advani: There are numerous vehicles parked at police stations for muddemals and further auctions, but due to environmental factors these vehicles are either partially or permanently damaged at the time of auction. What active steps can be taken to improve the conditions of these vehicles? 

CP Amitabh Gupta: This problem is very individualistic and depends on the police station to police station. But there are active steps that have been taken to construct dump yards and build a common framework for the proper disposal and release of inhouse vehicles. 

Adv.Priya Sasanani: Road rage and traffic violations is a serious issue. The CCTV cameras are installed but are they being monitored well. (Fancy no. plates, power horns by youngsters and the illegal hawkers on the roads eg. M.G. Road near clover centre)

CP Amitabh Gupta: There are around 1000 cameras installed throughout the city which give thorough coverage of the working signals and rules followed by the citizens. There do occur minor glitches but are resolved immediately, though there was a dip in the figures of the working cameras during the pandemic, efforts have been taken to resolve the issue smoothly. 

Road rages cases are not faced in the city as such but we do have traffic violations that continue despite taking efforts.

Adv.Rahul Bansode: Many times it so happens that unnecessary police involvement occurs in land dispute matters, (Police) use their power beyond their jurisdiction or make undue influence on the innocent, or sometimes manipulate the situation. So how do we clarify the jurisdiction or relevance of Police?

CP Amitabh Gupta: In land dispute investigation, a preliminary enquiry is a must. They have to later submit a report, the police have to get involved in the case.

Adv.Pareen Solanki: As IPC does not define and punishment for bullying and ragging, so what are the measures taken to prevent such actions?  

CP Amitabh Gupta: We have an anti-ragging cell for it. Ragging started as an introductory or induction session but later slipped into bullying or harassment. But the rate has been reduced at a very large number and the cases of ragging, bullying is less than 1%.

Anusha Iyer: During the pandemic, our police officers and constables were on duty 24X7 just like the doctors and paramedics, with a constant need of manpower. What kind of measures were taken to replenish the health of the police force?  

CP Amitabh Gupta: The covid pandemic was a difficult time for us just as the public. To keep our police forces working we provided them with masks, sanitisers and everything as instructed by the medical authorities. We did time to time testing and administered medicines that were prescribed. However, the only thing that kept us going was the willpower to fight it and curb it. 

Anushta Mishra: I believe mental health is the need of the hour. Especially for the risk-takers like the police who can be exposed to an array of mental health issues, like PTSD, burnouts, anxiety and depression. Due to the selfless and traumatic stressful work life, policemen are susceptible also to health problems like Hypertension and insomnia. Hence to help them deal with this and lead a better life psychological assistance and counseling can be provided by renowned psychologists. There are 100s of criminals being reported or caught every day. Either, be it for burglary, murder or domestic violence. At least 30% of these must-have committed a crime due to a certain mental condition. Hence, I sincerely urge you to appoint/refer such cases to a counselor or psychologist and we would be elated to provide mental health services across Pune, at police stations.

CP Amitabh Gupta: To address the first part of your question, yes the kind of work and stress police officers go through is immense and it affects our well-being as we completely leave our personal lives for the safety and betterment of our citizens. Hence it would be great if they received respective mental health counseling. 

Whereas for the juveniles we have had counsellors but due to inconsistency and certain limitations there wasn’t any remarkable progress seen.

With respect to the latter of your question; earlier I was of the thought that Math and English were important for day to day life but today with the amount of experience in this field I believe psychology is the most essential thing that everyone must be taught. Everyone’s thoughts are so rigid and narrow that no one understands each other’s points of view.

There are times when we require the help of a psychologist in particular cases but due to lack of awareness and even insight into the subject, it gets difficult to provide counselling. 

If we get the chance to have counsellors, we would love to accommodate them.