OP Singh
The focus of the investigation therefore shifted towards Ram Lal. Because it illustrates a fundamental principle of community policing: citizens are not merely recipients of police protection; they can also be the eyes and ears of the police, this incident has stayed with me. Enquiry revealed that the car was owned by a businessman in Ghaziabad. But when the officers gradually revealed the circumstances that had led them to suspect him, he surprised them with an entirely different account. Ram Lal told the incident to the investigating officers and insisted that he had actually reported the presence of the vehicle to the police before the robbery While in police custody.
To substantiate his claim, he told them that the S-I had written down the vehicle registration number on the reverse side of the papers on which he had been working at the time. The police were informed, and a police control room vehicle reached the bank soon after the robbers had left. The investigation was set in motion, and the vehicle registration number provided the police with the first tangible lead. The Prayagraj police contacted their counterparts in Ghaziabad and requested them to verify the owner’s background and obtain details about the vehicle. The circumstances appeared compelling. His whereabouts, movements and possible involvement in the robbery became the immediate concern of the investigating team. Ram Lal was traced to his native village and taken into custody. A team of police officers swung into action and subjected him to extensive questioning. Initially, he was completely bewildered. He had no idea why he had been detained or what the interrogation was about. Acting in good faith, and sensing that something might be seriously wrong, Ram Lal decided to inform the police. He wanted them to verify whether the vehicle had been brought to Prayagraj with the owner’s knowledge or whether it had somehow been taken without his consent. Fortunately, there was a police outpost close to the place where he had spotted the car. But that partnership can work only when the police are willing to listen, take citizens seriously and act on the information they provide.
The Ghaziabad police soon learnt that the driver employed by the businessman had gone on leave two days earlier. The driver was from Prayagraj, the robbery had taken place there, he had gone on leave shortly before the incident, and the vehicle had disappeared from his employer’s house immediately thereafter.