Imkong Walling
A week back, the Dimapur police issued a press release informing of a series of raids in the city’s bustling New Market. The target of the raids was hotels suspected or rather long known to be running illicit sex trade.
Described as a “planned and coordinated exercise,” as many as six hotels were busted resulting in the arrest of six men. Three of the arrested were said to be clients and the other three employees or “managers.” The release further informed of the rescue of seventeen “female victims,” who, it added were handed over to rehabilitation agencies as per the legal procedure.
The news could have passed off as just another routine police operation except for the attribution of the women as victims. It came as a rather unexpected surprise for rarely has the local police used words such as “victim, rescue and rehabilitation” when it came to raids busting illicit sex trade.
Similar operations in the past mostly involved arrests and no report of rehabilitation efforts, if any, initiated by the police.
As far back as one can remember, such police operations were limited to arrests that often involved clubbing all the arrested as accused, irrespective of gender. There was a time when women apprehended during such raids were even paraded before the media bringing into question the level of awareness of the police personnel vis-à-vis legal guidelines underlining the treatment of women found in such circumstances.
Talking of awareness and sensitivity, it would be worth noting that the raids occurred right after a seminar on human trafficking organised for state police personnel by the Nagaland Police under the aegis of the Women Safety Division, Ministry of Home Affairs.
Sensitivity, “victim-centric” and giving a humane touch to policing figured prominently in the seminar.
IGP (Range) Sonia Singh, who was one of the resource persons, laid emphasis on an empathetic attitude, in addition to detailed understanding of the Acts and procedures of law, especially when it comes to the marginalised and in this case – women. She reminded of the hazard of how the police despite its best efforts could be found wanting in the department of care.
On that note and with ‘care’ as the emphasis lets one to a rather latent face of policing that seldom captures the public consciousness.
That facet of law enforcement is encompassed in the word POLICE itself when rendered as an acronym and the initials expanded to Polite, Obedient, Loyal, Intelligent, Courageous, Efficient.
Purposeful and with a perceived intent of instilling a sense of pride and responsibility, policing as imagined via the acronym portrays a model police force that is an epitome of an uncomplaining resolve to serve in the face of adversity.
Yet in the scheme of the world as experienced, many would argue otherwise, rather construing it as a version far removed from the reality.
The more visible face of policing – no-nonsense, action oriented and sometimes forceful and rough - as experienced has perhaps stayed with the larger public perception, overshadowing the force’s other expected tender roles.
Going by the recent seminar and the subsequent raids bet it would be safe to assume that the state police are taking stride towards erasing that perception.
And one might as well take the liberty of rendering the C and E as Compassion and Empathy plus an A for Awareness.
The writer is a Principal Correspondent at The Morung Express. Comments can be sent to imkongwalls@gmail.com
