It is said there are black sheep among the white ones, and the Hyderabad police repeatedly prove this. However, what’s a little disturbing is that the number of black sheep in the police force appears to be quite high, with incidents of suspensions and dismissals of police personnel. Mostly, these are incidents involving breaking the law and being involved in immoral, unethical, or moral blunders.

Ironically, while the non-tolerant policy of the police force against illegal activities of its personnel is being appreciated, the number of errant cops is surprising. For example, in the last year, over 45 police personnel, right from the ranks of assistant commissioners of police to constables, were placed under suspension or dismissed from service across the three commissionerates of Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Rachakonda.

The action was taken against officials involved in wrongdoings, especially those involved in civil disputes, dereliction of duties, custodial deaths, irresponsible behavior towards citizens, corruption, cheating, and so on. In the list, the latest cases involve those of Marredpally Station House Officer K Nageshwar Rao and Malkajgiri CCS sub-inspector Vijay Dharavath.

But it has to be noted that in the past, it was mostly low-rung personnel like constables who committed crimes. However, nowadays, those in higher positions too are going rogue. Despite this, strict action is being taken by senior officials to act tough on tainted cops and to boost the morale of those working sincerely in the department.

Also, there have been instances when errant cops were let off for various reasons. For instance, in the case of Nageshwar Rao, he was let off due to his expertise in handling criminal cases and technology usage. On a normal day, disciplinary proceedings and punishment were based on state enactments, most of which were based on the Police Act of 1861, Victorian-era legislation under which disciplining the police was not such a priority.