Indore, known as the cleanest city of India, is now making headlines for drugs. In recent
times, drugs and related crimes have increased drastically in the district. The police is facing
major challenges in this area. However, under the leadership of Police Commissioner
Makrand Deoskar, major success has been achieved in puncturing the drugs cartel.
In conversation with Indian Masterminds, Mr. Deoskar, who was the first Police
Commissioner of Bhopal, talked about the difference between various systems of policing
and also highlighted the major issues of Indore.
You have served in the IG/SP System and was also the first Police Commissioner of
Bhopal. Now you are in Indore. According to you, what are the major differences in the
workings of the SP and the Commissionerate systems?
Although the jurisdiction of a Police Commissioner is bigger than the SP, this is not all. In
general, the process of getting security bond by the habitual offenders (under 110 CRPC) is
administered by the SDM. They are already overloaded with the administration and related
schemes. So, this gets neglected and monitoring of history sheeters are not done properly. In
commissionerate system, ACP and DCP have the rights and responsibility of such bonds.
Besides, there is a myth that in the case of law and order, only SDM can allow the use of
force. Sub-Inspectors are also empowered within the law to take decisions in such situations.
What is the major advantage of a commissionerate system?
The southern states have had this system for a long time. We are moving slowly towards it.
Usually, a SP is responsible for the whole district in IG system, but in one commissionerate,
there are 7-10 officers of SP rank. It improves the public grievance redressal system and also
the monitoring of the force.
You have been in Indore for the last few months. What has been the biggest challenge
here?
The population of Indore is almost 1.5 times more than that of Bhopal, and so is the crime
rate. We are mainly focusing on getting the security bonds from the history sheeters because
crime control is the most important job for police. Rest all are rosy things. Besides that, the
drug menace has been a real challenge here. Due to this, several other crimes also spike.
What is the major reason behind the spike in drugs related cases?
Post Covid, the inflow of students have increased in Indore. Earlier, students used to go to
Pune or Bangalore for studies. Now, more students stay here. Due to this, the drug culture has
also increased among the youth.
Have you planned any roadmap to counter the drug menace?
Opium is produced in other states and districts. Here, the problem is the peddlers. They are
the immediate source. Right now, we are focusing more and more on raids to make this a
non-profitable business. In most of the cases, we are not able to seize the drugs but the
offenders have to flush it which leads to wastage of that product.
Health and fitness of cops have always been a priority for you. You started the
monitoring of emotional and physical health, and the culture of health parade in
Bhopal. Are you planning the same here?
Emotional health is very important for everyone, and more so for the cops. It can create inter-
departmental problems and also reflect on their physical health. In Bhopal, we made it a
practice. The family members of the police personnel were also informed. Here, we don’t
have any data as such. A team of experts are required to analyze the Emotional Quotient data.
We are hopeful of a tie-up with some university for this.
