India Needs More Upright Officers Like Anjali Krishna

Recently, a video went viral showing an officer of the Indian Police Service (IPS) of the Maharashtra cadre, surrounded by some people, all of them listening over the speakerphone to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, telling her to stop the legal action she was taking against illegal sand and soil mining in Solapur.

Krishna is the sub-divisional police officer and had gone to Kurdu village in Solapur district to act against illegal sand and soil mining.

During the police operation, a local member of Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) called him and handed the phone to Krishna. In the video that went viral, a voice, attributed to Ajit Pawar, could be heard telling the officer to stop the action.

In the days of artificial intelligence and deepfake, it is easy not only to fake voices but also visuals of any person. As a police officer, Krishna did what is expected of her in her role; she said she did not recognise the voice and asked the person on the phone to call on her official number to establish the identity of the person on the other end.

Obviously, if the person on the other side, purportedly Ajit Pawar, had called up on her official number, not only would she have been able to confirm that it was indeed the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, but that would also have gone on record that she had received a call from the minister, had there been a legal issue any time later.

Ajit Pawar has won the disrepute of being brash and is often considered to be arrogant with party workers, officials, and even members of the public.

Pawar, who was asking her to stop the action over the phone, got agitated that he was being asked to call up on the official number and that the police officer could not recognise his voice. An angry Pawar then threatened to take action against her and questioned her ‘audacity’ to speak to him in that manner. The conversation reportedly continued on a video call where Pawar once again asked Krishna, the young IPS officer, to stop the action.

The video not only went viral on social media but also made it to news channels, with practically every channel showing it, leading to a public outcry.

Ajit Pawar’s reaction, following this, is a lesson for the public at large on how to run away from reality, deny facts on audio/video, and at the same time blame others for what happened. A few days later, Pawar clarified over his social media post that his intention was not to interfere with law enforcement but to ensure that the situation on the ground remained calm and did not escalate. He also stated that he holds the highest respect for the police force and its officers, including women officers.

Pawar did not stop at that; he blamed the media for portraying him in a bad light. He stated that the media focused on less important issues instead of highlighting his work as a workaholic politician.

There is no denying the fact that Ajit Pawar is a workaholic, but that does not mean he should not be exposed for his wrongdoings. If he had respect for the police force and its officers, he should have lauded the role of Anjana Krishna, and instead of asking her to stop the action, he should have told her to take the strictest action against the culprits, especially since they were his party workers.

An inquiry initiated by the Solapur district administration has confirmed that the sand excavation was illegal and that IPS officer Anjana Krishna’s actions were justified. Following the report, an FIR was registered against those involved in the illegal mining.

It is not too late. Since Krishna’s action was within the law, Pawar should tender a public apology to her. That will prove that he respects the police force and police officers; failing which, his social media post will amount to mere shop talk.

Thanks to cell phones, Ajit Pawar’s action became public, and he stood exposed. But that does not mean that other ministers do not give such illegal orders to officials.

In the past, there have been cases of ministers giving similar orders, some standing by officials while doing so. At the same time, there have been police officers and those in administration standing up against ministers, who were acting against the law.

Decades ago, a young IPS officer had publicly slapped a minister for violating the law. The officer paid a heavy price for his act and was denied all his due promotions, retiring only in the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police. However, he won his legal battle after retirement and was given the rank of Director General of Police post-retirement.

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A sub-inspector of police had slapped a Mumbai municipal councillor in his police station because the latter told the police officer not to take action against a particular political activist. Yet another IPS officer told a chief minister that if he did not get a call from the latter or from any other minister, he would stop the riot in his city in 24 hours.

A young IAS officer was sent a file from the chief minister’s office for clearance. She found that what was being told to be done was not within the law, so she returned the file with her note on it. The chief minister called her up on the intercom and asked her to come to his office on the sixth floor of Mantralaya. When she went to the CM, he told her to make a note on the file that she was personally told by the chief minister to do so, even if it did not fit in the law. While his act was wrong, he ensured that the officer would not be in trouble.

We need more upright officers like Anjana Krishna in the police as well as administrative services. Unfortunately, many like to crawl when they are not even told to bend.

The author is a senior journalist and media trainer. He tweets at @a_mokashi