Policing by moonlight no more

By Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

NEW DELHI, DEC. 4. The lunar calendar, which has been closely associated with policing in Delhi and around for ages, is gradually disappearing now from the walls of police stations here. This because the crime pattern which linked dark moonless nights with activities of criminals, especially the so-called criminal tribes, has itself undergone a sea-change.

Dark nights have traditionally been seen as an opportunity for criminals to strike. To this day, the Delhi police organise special patrolling on moonless nights. But now with such strikes by criminal tribes declining, the drive is confined primarily to checking the movement of suspicious persons who might indulge in burglaries.

The practice of police patrolling on dark nights goes back a couple of centuries. ``Those were the days when policemen would move around on horses with mashaals (torches) in hand. The Indian police inherited the tradition. Only now instead of horses we have proper vehicles and the mashaals have been replaced by very light pistols to fire flares for illumination,'' says Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch), Mr Rajan Bhagat.

On dark nights, patrolling is stepped up in far-flung areas. The Additional Deputy Commissioner (West District), Mr Ajay Kumar, points out that ``the chances of burglary are more on such nights. So patrolling is increased at places which have large open areas.''

But such patrolling is not needed on well-lit roads and its relevance has decreased since certain so-called ``criminal tribes'' such as Pardis and Bawarias which were earlier known to strike only on dark nights have now changed their modus operandi, he adds. ``They no longer have reservations about when they strike.''

Still the police resort to special patrolling on dark nights to prevent burglaries and robberies generally. ``We try to thwart strikes by newer criminals such as the `Tempo gang' or `Kachcha- Baniyan gang' by adopting newer patterns of patrolling.''

The police teams patrolling open or forest areas carry ``very light pistols'' on them. These pistols fire coloured flares which can keep a one sq. km area illuminated for about 10 seconds and thus help the police spot and nab criminals on the run.

The flare guns are carried by the area police as also the Police Control Room vans on dark nights. In the past, these guns have helped the police nab a large number of criminals in the back-of- beyond areas across South-West, West and North-West Delhi. But now their use is on the wane. ``For a cop on patrol, carrying a very light pistol along with a normal weapon or stick is a cumbersome thing. Anyway, you can't fight criminals with flares,'' says a police officer.

Also, with strikes by criminal tribesmen declining -- the last major strike by the Pardi gang was at Hauz Khas here as far back as December 1998 -- the police believe the ``dark nights'' exercise has lost its importance. And so, with it, the lunar calendar.

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