Police in Maharashtra's Beed district have been instructed not to wear their full names on uniforms in order to avoid "caste tensions". Similarly, the officers now have desk nameplates with simply their first names, a first for Maharashtra.
The order were issued by Beed Superintendent of Police Navneet Kanwat, who took office in January after demonstrations over the December murder of Massajog Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. Deshmukh was a Maratha, while the majority of the accused are from the OBC Vanjari community.
This escalated tensions between the OBCs and the Maratha community, which were already at odds over the reservation issue. Dhananjay Munde, an NCP minister, resigned following the murder.
The SP’s order, according to police officers is to avoid further caste tensions in the district. “The Beed SP has issued directives to all police personnel in the district to address each other by their first names and put their first names on uniforms and avoid surnames. This is being done to stop caste discrimination in the district,” Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Ingale, spokesperson for Beed police said, Indian Express reported.
Citing police concerns, Ingale stated that if a member of the Maratha community is stopped by traffic police for violating the laws, the violator looks for the officer's name on his uniform. “If he identifies that the officer is from the OBC community, the violator alleges that he was caught because he is a Maratha. It is the same when a violator belonging to an OBC community is caught… The surnames are leading to unnecessary verbal duels and ugly scenes. Therefore, this decision has been taken,” the spokesperson said.
Police officers have also been issued nameplates for their desks that simply include their first names. Beed SP Kanwat was unavailable for comment. While the Maratha community has hailed the decision and believes it should be applied throughout the state, the OBC group has also urged for a shift in the police approach.
Vinod Patil, a member of the Maratha Kranti Morcha, which is fighting for the community's quota demand in the Supreme Court, stated, “The police department is the only wing where there is no union or groupism. We also want police to be neutral and deal with criminals as criminals and not belonging to any particular community. When the police force becomes independent and is not identified by their caste or religion, it will help in taking appropriate decisions and uphold our Constitution.”
“We welcome the Beed SP’s decision and urge Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to remove surnames of the police officers from their nameplates and uniforms,” he said.
Haribhau Rathod, an OBC leader, said, “The intention of the Beed SP is good but it looks like a half-hearted measure. Making use of first names is fine, how about changing the mindset of the police force.”
“There are some police personnel who look at criminals from the prism of caste. The police should leave their caste at home when they don the khaki uniform. They should behave like a third umpire and take completely independent decision and not seen to be taking sides. For this, there is need to change the mindset of the police through training sessions,” he said.
B G Kolse-Patil, a retired Bombay High Court judge and one of the voices of the reservation campaign, stated that the ruling is unlikely to bring about change in Beed until the police force changes its mindset.
“From whatever has appeared in the media, it is clear that so far the police personnel were dancing to the tunes of NCP leader Dhananjay Munde,” he alleged. “Similarly, had police acted promptly in the Santosh Deshmukh case, his murder would not have taken place. Every day we hear of brutal attacks on the people … If police stop being slaves to the politicians, not a single crime will take place in Beed. And therefore, I don’t think this measure will work,” he said.