Hyderabad: The strength of a police office does not depend on how powerful his weapons are, but how well equipped he is in terms of skill and technology, said Hyderabad police commissioner Anjani Kumar.
“Back in 1990 when I passed out of the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Administrative Academy (LBSNAA) after my training, our batch mates discussed who, in the real sense, is a modern police officer. While some opined carrying an AK47 (assault rifle) is modern, some others thought holding an self-loading rifle (SLR) or Glock Pistol made them modern. And now, when a new batch of police graduated from academy in Hyderabad, the Telangana government provided them with digital pads, equipped with criminal records from all states and connected to each and every government network,” Kumar said. He was delivering a speech on ‘Crimes During Changing Times’ at TedXSCETW.
“The strength of networking which our police officers possess now is unprecendented,” he said, adding that it is only due to the evolving nature of crimes that are being committed.
The Hyderabad Commissioner, in his talk, travels back in ancient times when crimes were merely done using force and then how group conspiracies emerged, which were all physical in nature. “But now, we see a man sitting in eastern Europe can hack your computer to withdraw millions of rupees from your own account,” he added.
He also threw light on the crimes that were political in nature: “In ancient times, when there is a change in government–the process was always violent. Now, thanks to democracy, brute force has no relevance.” The commissioner also touched upon concepts of terrorism, crimes against humanity and assasinations, among others.
Kumar also shared the story of Colonel William Henry Sleeman, who was popular for eliminating ‘Thugs’ in central India who killed over 20,000 pilgrims and traders in an year. Sleeman was appointed as Superintendent of the Thuggee Department, which entailed launching campaigns against Thugs in northern and central India, who “in the duration of 30-40 years inservice, eliminated the whole Thugee system in India,” he said.
From threatening public order to technology used for nuanced types of crime, Anjani Kumar explained that the socirty gets disturbed at large.
He concluded with a major emphasis and appeal to the citizens of the country on how they can support the frontline fighters against these evolving crimes, simply by being cooperative, aware and diligent in their own rights and the rights of their fellow citizens.
