Thousands of policemen sacked in northern India
INDIA: Authorities in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh
said they have sacked thousands of policemen accused of paying bribes to
get into the force.
The Press Trust of India news agency said 3,964 policemen were fired
on Tuesday, bringing the number of dismissals to 11,638 — or around 10
percent of the total force — since the law enforcement clean-up was
launched a week ago.
Officials in India’s most populous state said 22,000 men were
illicitly recruited under former chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Mayawati Kumari, the current chief minister, who hails from India’s
most oppressed caste and has vowed to fight corruption, has alleged that
the recruits were only given their positions after paying huge bribes.
Uttar Pradesh has more than 110,000 men and women in uniform but also
has one of India’s highest crime rates. Officers in the adjoining state
of Bihar, another area with a reputation for lawlessness, are embroiled
in a scandal over mob lynchings of suspected criminals.
Last week 10 men suspected of burglary were beaten to death by
villagers in the state in a sign of mounting frustration with police.
Officers then reportedly dumped the bodies of the victims into a
river instead of cremating them, allegedly to save money.
A few weeks ago, television channels showed another suspected thief
from Bihar state being beaten by a crowd and then chained to a police
motorcycle and dragged around, leaving him seriously injured.
New Delhi, Wednesday, AFP |