Kolkata Police makes uniforms mandatory for personnel on duty save for few specialised departments
Kolkata, May 26
Kolkata Police has issued an order barring its personnel at all levels from performing official duties in plain dress henceforth, with exceptions for those attached to certain specialised departments.
The departments that have been given exemptions include the Detective Department, the Special Branch, the Enforcement Branch, the Special Task Force, and the Cybercrime Division, considering that being in plain dress is an integral part of the duties they perform.
In case any officer or staff attached to departments other than those that do not come under such restriction are required to go for official duty out of uniform, the personnel concerned will have to seek prior permission from higher authorities.
Confirming the development, a senior city police official said that an official notification in the matter had already been issued from the office of the Police Commissioner, Ajay Nand, on May 24.
The officers and staff, barring those five departments, will have to be mandatorily in uniforms while going for raids or arrests or law & order maintenance duties or any other official duty.
In the notification, the office of the Commissioner had reminded the Supreme Court's judgement in the D.K. Basu versus West Bengal Government case in 1997 during the Left Front regime in the state, where the apex court laid clear-cut guidelines for police regarding the arrest and detention of individuals. The ruling was issued to curb widespread police misconduct, custodial torture, and deaths in lock-ups.
The apex court in that case directed the cops on official duties not only to be in uniforms but also directed that all police personnel handling the arrest or interrogation must wear visible name tags with accurate designations.
The apex court's judgment is regarded as a landmark one in terms of the protection of fundamental rights under Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Respect for the Supreme Court's D.K. Basu judgment being implemented. Those lock-up deaths in the '90s were horrifying. Uniforms and name tags will at least make police think twice before roughing up innocent people. Hope this is enforced strictly and not just a paper order. 🙏
Good move by Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nand ji. But let's be real—raids in uniform? Criminals will see you coming from a kilometer away. For something like a drug bust or gang raid, plainclothes are necessary. This blanket rule might hurt operational effectiveness. Exemptions for detective departments make sense, but what about other critical operations?
I've lived in Kolkata all my life—the number of times I've seen cops in casual clothes hanging around chai stalls, who knows if they're working or just slacking? This gives citizens clarity. But the culture of police arrogance won't change with just uniforms. We need body cameras and independent oversight too. Let's see if they follow the Supreme Court verdict on name tags properly.
Aar yaar, this is just optics. Real problem is police corruption and brutality—uniforms won't fix that. But at least now if a cop misbehaves, you can identify them for complaint. Baby steps I guess. Just hope the enforcement is strict and not just another circular gathering dust in the file cabinet. 😒
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.