Written orders can help a lot, feels T P Senkumar
Even in the rare instance of issuing oral orders, they should be put in writing at the earliest, he said.
Kochi: The police investigation system can be cleansed if senior officers give written orders to the lower-rung officials instead of oral instructions, according to Mr T.P. Senkumar, former DGP. Delivering a lecture on ‘Police and Rule of Law’ here on Friday, he said 80 percent of the system can be cleansed by such a culture. Even in the rare instance of issuing oral orders, they should be put in writing at the earliest, he said.
If such a system is implemented, no superior officer will dare to issue wrong instructions to the subordinates involved in the investigation, he added. “The police will be deviating from their duty if they start implementing the rule of the ruler instead of the rule of law,” he said. Often senior officers issue oral instructions and if things go wrong they never own up and the blame squarely falls on the subordinates, he said. He justified the police strategy against Maoists.