Cops play jurisdiction card at victims’ expense

An auto driver, whose auto was recently stolen from Prakasam Street, T Nagar, learnt these limitations of policemen in a bitter way when his nephew sought the help of a policeman to recover the stolen auto which he had seen on the road. 

According to the complainant P Vijayakumar, his nephew, who distributes newspapers in the T Nagar area, saw the stolen auto dropping a passenger near Tirumalai Tiupati Devastanam on Tirumalai Road. He started following the auto on his two-wheeler and on seeing him the auto driver tried to speed away. When he followed the auto to Valluvar Kottam, he saw a policeman standing there and sought his help to retrieve the stolen auto. It is said that policemen joined him in the chase but only up to College Road. “The police constable asked my nephew to stop the vehicle and got down, saying that he cannot continue as his jurisdiction ended there.” Thankfully, Vijayakumar later found the auto abandoned at College Lane.

However, the police personnel seem to have their own their problems in dealing with cross-limit complaints. It is said that a Deputy Commissioner of police was recently transferred after he raided a gambling house, which was close to his house but just out of his jurisdiction. He was asked for an explanation as to how he could violate the jurisdictional limits and conduct raid at a place that falls under another Deputy Commissioner. City police sources said the official acted as a true police officer when he detected an illegal activity, but had to pay the price for not taking care of his jurisdictional limits. 

“We cannot blame policemen if they do not entertain complainants who approach them for a problem that takes place at a different jurisdiction. Even Deputy Commissioners do not have the power to act out of their jurisdiction,” a senior police official told DTNext. 

“Petty ego issues and strict superiors who do not support any action out of jurisdiction are to blame. There are many complainants who are made to run from pillar to post for getting their complaints registered as they may not be aware of the jurisdictional limits,” the official added.