Delhi Police disowns its local booths and cops inside them

[karira]

As reported on zeenews.com on 10 August 2008:
Zee News - Delhi Police local booths
Delhi Police disowns its local booths and cops inside them
New Delhi, Aug 10: It might sound very strange but if you want to reach out to the 'men in uniform' at the local "police booths" near your residence, don't be shocked if you get a negative response for the Delhi Police have disowned any "responsibility for the booths or the cops inside".

If authorities are to be believed, these 68 ft booths (size varies) seen in most of the localities carrying display boards of Delhi Police with some khaki-clad men sitting in them are merely an "eyewash".

Police disown any such establishments and have declined either sending their personnel there or supervising over these structures. Moreover, they say that these booths are constructed without their consent.

"We don't recognise them as our affiliations and our men also don't go there," Delhi Police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat said.

Police also denied to have permitted or extended any help to get electricity connection, space, logistics support from such booths and sanctioning its men to such booths.

Answering to a Right to Information Act application filed by an NGO 'NyayaBhoomi', the Delhi Police had informed that most of the beat boxes were either built by residents or market welfare associations of the area concerned.

The beat boxes, numbering around 1,000 across the national capital, were built on pavements or in private land without fulfilling any formalities of the civic body.

"The Delhi Police don't permit such set ups. Instead, we ask people to contact nearest police station whenever there is need," Bhagat said.