Dehradun:
Errant policemen in Dehradun will be sent to spend night in forests all alone as a novel punishment.
Dehradun Police have decided to crack the whip after giving the errant policemen 15 days' time to mend their ways following frequent complaints that cops in Uttarakhand capital often misbehave with people who approached them for help.
Police personnel, found guilty of dereliction of duty or misbehaving with public, will spend a day in the forest all alone with the bare minimum for survival, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Keval Khurana said.
"The novel method has been devised to sensitise and discipline the police force in the city," Mr Khurana said.
Personnel attached to the police lines as a punishment for dereliction of duty or misbehaving with the public will be given 15 days' time to mend their ways, failing which they will be sent to the jungle to spend 24 hours in solitude, with bare necessities to support them, like uncooked rice, pulses and two water bottles, Mr Khurana said.
However, this punishment will be imposed on errant policemen only if they fail to show any improvement during the 15-day period, during which they will be given a heavy dose of training aimed to reform them, the SSP said.
The first-ever 15-day training for cops against whom complaints of improper behaviour have been received began yesterday, he said.
The training involves night march by errant policemen on foot to Sahaspur and Doiwala in full uniform with a rifle hanging from the shoulder. They will also be imparted training on how to behave properly with people during the period, the officer said.