THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Daltonganj, Sept. 7: Police posters for Jan Shikayat Samadhan Karyakaram (JSSK) draw viewers of all sexes here in Palamu.
Publicity blitzkrieg
The Palamu police have done a mini publicity blitzkrieg for this programme conceived and launched by DGP Anurag Gupta and his team of senior police officers.
Never in the past, no police poster had ever drawn such an overwhelming response as it is these times in Palamu. People talk about it.
Speak up against erring cops
People’s expectations have gone up. They are happy to know they have a chance now to speak up against the erring cops or their problems.
The Jharkhand Story correspondent spoke to a cross-section of people who said they have one apprehension.
Asked about the apprehension they said, “What if our complaint against police officials incurs their wrath or they nurse a grudge against us waiting for any weak moment of us to punish or torture us.”
People want assurance
These people wanted that in the JSSK senior police officers must assure people of no retaliatory behaviour or action from the cop or official against whom the complaint was lodged.
This assurance of no harm coming to the complainant against cops be prominently discussed.
However, the hyped public expectations may go for a nose dive if police fail to deliver. Hence deliverance is a must from the side of the police.
Meanwhile, DIG of Police Palamu range Y S Ramesh has urged common people to make the best use of the JSSK.
SP Reeshma Ramesan told this correspondent, “Our cops are making faster outreach to the public for September 10 JSSK. People assemble there just to see what the police are doing.”
‘Police a Friend’ image was never offered to the public. DGP Anurag Gupta has evolved this JSSK to win the trust of the common people.
Palamu has remained infamous for the poster war between the police and the Naxals
The Naxals in their posters used to expose the high-handedness and excesses of the police. It used to give pictorial descriptions of how cops exploit poor men and women.
On the other hand, posters of the police were used to expose the double face of the Naxals where police used to prove the Naxals’ ideology as all a big sham. Police posters used to claim that the Naxals’ so-called battle against injustice was nothing but a fraud with the public.
Again, the police used to flash passport-size photographs of the wanted Naxals on their posters asking common people to inform them about their location and win fabulous prizes for it.
This exhibitory poster about the Naxals of the police used to stare from above at all public places like bus stands, and busy market areas. But such a poster no one stopped to look at. The public thought it a waste of time to have even a cursory look at such a poster.
Further, police paste copies of absconding Naxals to appear before the law or paste warrants for the seizure of attachment of property if the offender continues to dodge police and court.
A poster the public never bothers except the family on whose house wall police paste such a notice that tries to keep such pasted notice untorn or unblemished.
But these days men, women, boys and girls throng the JSSK posters and want to reassure them as to what it means after all.
