A few days back, a video of a woman police officer named Shreshtha Thakur went viral on the internet. In the video, she can be seen standing up against BJP goons single-handedly, who had come to harass and intimidate her after she had slapped a fine of INR 200 to a BJP district-level worker named Pramod Lodhi for not having necessary vehicular documentation papers and driving without a helmet. She then sent five others to jail for impeding her from discharging government duties when they tried to threaten and intimidate her.
In the video, she was seen passionately doing her duty, as she asked the local BJP supporters to get it written from CM Adityanath that the police had no right to check vehicles belonging to the party workers. While the video went viral for the right reasons, the situation did not sit well with the party workers. In a meeting of the party’s 11 MLAs and MPs with Yogi Adityanath held soon after this incident, Shreshtha was transferred to Bahraich.
While a senior officer in the UP police claimed that it was a routine transfer, the situation that led to it speaks otherwise. Apparently, Shrestha’s stand against the party workers hurt their self-esteem so much, that they reported to the higher authorities to get her transferred as a redressal to their hurt ego. And like it always happens, the VIP culture went beyond the sense of moral duty of the administrative and police bodies, and Shreshtha was transferred in what looks like a punishment for doing her duty.
“Got transfer to Bahraich, it’s Nepal border, don’t worry my friends I am happy ..I accept it as a reward for my good work. U all are invited to Bahraich”, said Shreshtha in a Facebook post.
Shreshtha Thakur’s Facebook post.
The outrageous part of this whole incident is how an on-duty police officer cannot really do her work without getting bullied by authorities. While Shreshtha maintains that she is happy and will continue performing her duties, her transfer is essentially a message from the political party to anyone who might stand against them.
Transfer as a punishment is a long used method of the authorities to exert their power. The superintendent of police of Neemuch district, T Amogla Aiyyar, was transferred in May last year after she led a police team to reportedly protect a mosque from a mob of RSS workers.
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The hurt ego of political parties at not being able to yet take the law in their hands, and particularly at the “insult” of being stopped by women police officers, is enough reason these days to get officials transferred thereby “showing them their place”. Once again, a woman wielding authority is a sight that is unpalatable to patriarchal men, and it is the woman who must pay the price for their fragile egos. This was just another case of the mockery of law and order by political parties, and we wonder how many more such cases we are yet to witness.
Featured Image Credit: Hindustan Times
