It is quite shocking, but recently more than 400 police personnel were penalized by Indian Railways for travelling without tickets between Ghaziabad to Kanpur by trains. This raises a question that rarely gets asked — police officers disobeying the law as they are mandated to implement and enforce it. However, cases of fare evasion on Indian trains are rampant, though never before have so many officers on a railroad been implicated in the massive rort. The authorities have acted fast and fast, the event has caused discussions on the behavior of civil servants, the role of the police and measures taken to prevent and punish misconduct within the ranks of the police force.
1. The Incident: Over 400 Police Officers Fined
The sources have found that more than 400 police personnels traveled without proper tickets in the trains of Ghaziabad- Kanpur route. The matter was unravelled when Indian Railways ticket examining staff conducted several raids on numerous services running between the two cities. These personnel were fined based on the Indian Railways regulation on ticketless riding that attract stiffer charges than the fee for tickets.
Many of the police officers without ticket were from different branches and the fact that some of them were violated the most basic rule as policemen of having to buy tickets was worrisome. There are hundreds of violations, and what has been reported is the fine imposed is being seen as move towards ensuring that public transport systems are not compromised.
2. The Railway’s Role in Ensuring Accountability
Many passengers who travel in Indian Railways indulge in the act of fare evasion and this has remained a notorious albatross on the Indian railway company due to the many heads that it loses in the process apart from the fact that it puts into effect a regime where passengers who obey the rules are forced to part with their hard earned money to cover for the fiscal loses brought about by those passengers who jump the barrier and use the railway system without paying the required Such ticketless travelling results in loosing heavy amount of rupees for Indian Railways in a year while travelling without ticket by public officials or law enforcement officers complicates the matters more than one can imagine.
Recent times have shown that Indian Railways does have increased vigilance about ticketless travelling as the number of ticket-checking staff has been increasing supplemented with technological support. In this case, several teams of ticket inspectors were deployed to trains operating between Ghaziabad and Kanpur for this purpose and the outcome was a lot of policemen and women who were arrested and fined.
Railway Ministry has stated that all chances of fare-dodgers have been withdrawn, irrespective the rank of the offender. Pecuninary sanctions received by the policemen are not only the pecuninary punishments, but the rhetorically symbolic punishments, meaning that the obligation must be obeyed and üzç the enforcers of the law are not immune to the rules being implemented.
3. Impact on Public Perception and Trust
Carrying out the laws is the bottom line of police personnel, and seeing them violate the law has moved the public. Men in blue uniforms are supposed to behave like gentlemen, and such acts erode the confidence of society in law enforcement. That is why it becomes hard for the general population to trust the ethics of those individuals that are legally required to uphold the law.
This occasion also leads to the questioning of the ethical and appropriate conduct as well as the duties of the public officials in general and representatives of police departments, in particular and actually for this reason, there is a growing demand for higher compliance with the established rules. The general feeling is that LEA should set the pace, and those actions that erode this bonding harm the reputation of the officers.
At the moment various social commentators have opined saying that though the fines act as a deterrent mechanism, there needs to be a discourse on ethics for law enforcement officers. ‘‘Many people advocate that there should also be internal measures taken apart from the fines to ensure that the message is passed clearly and concisely that laws and rules must be adhered to not only within the public domain, but also within the police force.’’
4. Challenges in Policing the Police
This incident highlights a broader issue faced by many public institutions: how to police the police. It is equally difficult when the one who is supposed to follow the rules and regulation themselves are the one breaking them. This incident shows that much more needs to be done in terms of how police forces in the country are policed.
This may help explain why ticketless travel is so rampant among officers; it may well be that there is no enforcement within the police force. Many officers end up taking advantages in that they see themselves as privileged to take advantages, overlook some rules and regulations or consider themselves immune to law enforcement. But this incident is an example that Indian Railways is not a boss of lawbreakers because they punish everyone even having a doctorate degree.
Also, some officers have used lack of adequately provided allowances or compensation for travelling etc as the reason behind their actions. But such reasons do not work when there is a blatant violation of the rules, and this is a sound argument. Hence the general population expectations from police and other public servants remain the same in respecting such protocols.
5. Response from Authorities
This has ordered efficient actions from the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and other railway authorities. More about such violations has triggered a call for improved scrutiny to prevent their occurrence in the future. According to Indian Railways, it will only step up surveillance and ticket checks along the major corridors in which ticketless travelling is more rampant.
Furthermore, its senior police officials have reportedly taken note of the incident and even looking at administering internal disciplinary measures against the officers who were fined. This is likely to cause evaluation as to the manner in which police officers in the course of their duties utilize public transport and whether or not more stringent measures have to be taken to enforce compliance with railway regulations.
6. Broader Implications
This is not about having failed to pay a fare; it is partly a question of answering for one’s actions, and partly one of police courtesy and the police culture in modern India. Law enforcement agencies and particularly politicians are enjoined by the law to adhere to the same laws they are required to implement. About 400 police personnel were punished with fines demonstrating that Indian Railways will not allow breaking the rules, even if it concerns police officers.
This could cause further exponential work reformation, for example, the police force can be trained on issues to do with ethical practice and importance of being ethical role models. This letter also aptly demonstrates the endless battle that must still be fought, especially against reckless acts that violate rules across all the sectors of public service.
7. Conclusion
The fine set on more than 400 personnel of the Ghaziabad police who had traveled ticketless between Ghaziabad and Kanpur is a good lesson that even the supposed enforcers of the law are subject to Book of the Law. The action where Indian Railways fined these officers is a strong signal of the organization that fare evasion is not acceptable and that people are equal to all.
It also sheds light to the question pertaining to responsibility, the public credibility, as well as things that law enforcement officers are expected to do or avoid. It also brings a message to all the two police departments and public institutions that all should adhere to rules to resend that nobody is superior to the law.