The fact that Patnaik failed to stop the stir has shown that the rank and file in the police force was no longer in awe of him and are, instead, comparing him with the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar.
There is a growing feeling among the lower ranks of the Delhi Police that the top brass including the commissioner failed to stand by them in the Tis Hazari lawyers vs. police incident and the subsequent attacks on the policemen by the lawyers. They say that 'when our own officers, some of whom are lazy and late-comers, did not stand by us, then it shows how weak our leadership is'.
"They saw what we were going through, yet they did not come forward to help. They did not even come to the hospital to see the injured policemen. Commissioner Amulya Patnaik and his officers remained glued to their chairs. His conduct has been worse than that of Bahadur Shah Zafar. Except for a few including additional District Commissioner of Police Harendra Singh, the rest were not bothered," said a woman Sub-Inspector at the protest site on Tuesday.
Harendra Singh has been suspended on Delhi High Court orders. It was he, who is considered to be the major force behind the building of the new police headquarter building, which was inaugurated by Home Minister Amit Shah on October 31. During the inauguration ceremony, it is being said that Patnaik let Singh take charge of the ceremony before the Home Minister. But, before Singh could sit in his new office, he had to bear the brunt in the Tis Hazari violence case.
The Delhi Police personnel are also unhappy because they feel that the top brass failed them as the High Court order favoured the lawyers. The police embroiled in its own internal politics quietly saw some of its top officials fall after the violence.
There seems to be considerable and widespread disenchantment with Commissioner Amulya Patnaik, especially among the lower ranks of the force. The police top officials failed to immediately reach out to the frontline force who could have been mollified. Had this happened, then the day-long stir outside its own headquarter would not have happened and the commissioner would not have come out as a weak guardian, felt the policemen who protested before top officals.
(Sanjeev Kumar Singh Chauhan can be reached at sanjeev.c@.in)
( With inputs from IANS )