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	Campaign Against Terrorism to Intensify 2010 Will Set the Security Agenda for the Next Decade - D. Sivanandhan, Commissioner of Police, Mumbai In a career spanning 34 years, D. Sivanandhan, Commissioner of Police, Mumbai, has donned many a cap, no doubt, covered with many a feather, though he seems to prefer a simple beret to an assertive peak. The choice is subtle and gentle, like the way he is. But make no mistake. Sivanandhan is tough and resolute. When he says, “My mission is to keep the Mumbai Police fighting-fit and battle-ready in 2010 to take on terrorism or to tackle any contingency,” he means it and you know, it is not an idle boast. Because, Sivanandhan has in a short period of seven months created Quick Response Teams (QRTs) comprising 1,000 men well-trained and armed to the teeth, established strong security infrastructure and taken various other initiatives. He has stepped up his security spending in fiscal year ending March 31 by 300 percent from Rs 36 cr to Rs 92 cr on his men, materials, training, weaponry, equipment and logistics support such as transport and communications. You are equally convinced when he says, “I vow to eradicate drunken driving in Mumbai.” Because, the conviction in his voice, the pain and anguish he feels in his heart for Traffic Police Sub-Inspector Dinanath Shinde, who was killed recently in a horrifying car crash caused by a drunken woman driver, percolates to you, touches you. In an interview with Dev Varam of The Mumbai PROTECTOR, Sivanandhan talks about various issues ranging from terrorism to police welfare with candour. Excerpts. What is your agenda for 2010, the first year of the next decade, which may set the tone for the decade itself? We should look at 2010 against the backdrop of 2008 and 2009. In 2009 we did not have any terrorist attack all over the country. In 2010, very recently there was a terrorist attack in Lal Chowk in Jammu and Kashmir where two terrorists kept the army fighting there for more than 24 hours at bay. The year 2010 began that way. When Pakistan had given some respite in 2009 after a massive terrorist attack on Mumbai on 26/11 2008, we cannot forget or forgive that ghastly deed. So, for me 2010 means continuously preparing Mumbai Police for facing any terrorist attack. Every terrorist attack is going to be something new and novel. They are going to come up with their imagination and not ours. We may imagine and get ready for something. But they will be looking at our weak spots. Our media and other people are helping rather continuously exposing our preparedness and various other things. So the terrorists will go beyond that. I will have to expect the unexpected from the enemy and I will have to keep the police force ready for that contingency. The year 2010 is going set an agenda for the next 10 years. The entire police force in 2020 will have to be as battle-ready to fight terrorism as it is today. Terrorism is not going to go down, caste conflicts are not going to diminish or the bomb culture is not going to decrease. If ordinary stuff like ammonium nitrate is going to be used for making bombs anybody can feel encouraged to make an attempt to put together an explosive device. So we have to have a complete set of people, all policemen, who will be fighting-fit and battle-ready. And they will also have to be knowledgeable about IED bombs, terrorism and various other related issues. Coordination among them has to be at its best. We cannot be looking here and there and asking for the Army, Navy and Air Force to come and rescue them. That kind of situation of helplessness has to be changed. The police will have to help the entire country by being the first responders. For that, they have to equipped, trained accessorized. And that is what I am doing. We have done a lot in such a short time. In the next 10 years, we have to continuously be preparing the police for that. Alongside, the people will also have to be prepared to face terrorism. Besides fighting terrorism, what are your other priorities? Other than terrorism, there are the usual crimes; economic offences, cyber crime, the safety of women and senior citizens, etc. We have been doing a lot in controlling and preventing such crimes through normal policing as usual. Cyber and economic crimes bleed the people without their knowledge. In terms of the size of the money siphoned out of the country and the people, these crimes are very serious. But according to me, the crime that shocks the people's conscience most is terrorism. So I will focus on terrorism. While there are 42,000 men doing normal policing anyway, I have to be all the time thinking about terrorism and getting the police ready for the battles lying ahead. In the media my image is good. To be a role model, I have had to sacrifice and forego many things during the last 34 years. Reputation and character are not built overnight. They have to be built over a long period of time. I am living as a role model and what I am doing to the police force is encourage them to follow. And I am cutting them to size whoever they are and erasing the cancerous growth wherever it is. At the same time I am encouraging the good men and officers. Overall, we are encouraging as many good people as possible. There have been many initiatives in this regard, THE PROTECTOR magazine being one such, which is read by the people as well as the police. We have come up with the concept of 'Samvaad' under which, whatever I am doing is continually told to the police so they can improve. I am arranging lectures. For instance, Mrs. Jaya Row is going to talk on the topic - Invest in Yourself, which is about pursuing excellence through the Bhagavad Gita. Around 200 policemen are going to attend that. I am trying to motivate the policemen through lectures and yoga which help cleanse the body as well as the soul. Ultimately the policeman must know he is the best PRO. No PRO that I appoint can create an image which is not there. The image has to be created by one's own behaviour. Each one - the patrolman, the street constable - has to behave like a PRO; then only our image will improve. Cosmetic window dressing is not going to help. I am reaching out to my men through Samvaad and talking to them continuously, saying that their image has to be improved only by good behaviour and not by purchasing publicity. The conscientious people are already aware. My problem is with those who go to the gangsters' party and get me a bad name. Of the 42,000 policemen only five were there. They were also not dancing as the media wrongly portrayed them to be doing. But they were there and for that they have paid the price. Nobody else paid this kind of price so far except the policemen, the fact which the media does not appreciate. Is there a systemic approach to make policemen inculcate the right kind of values? We have got continuous training programmes, refresher courses, lectures and my addressing them, sending messages everyday about the good behaviour. When aberrations occurred we moved with alacrity to address them and drive home the message so that others could correct themselves. People have never improved even with the profound morals that Ramayana and Mahabharata portrayed. So the point that I repeatedly stress is the man's individual approach towards improving himself. Many people were trained along with me. But they have not behaved like me. They behaved differently for which they have paid the price. I am enjoying a reputation as you have said, because I have foregone so many things. So these are individual choices. But I for one as a leader would cut any cancerous growth ruthlessly without any fear. It has been seven months you took over as the police chief. Is Mumbai safer than before? Absolutely. Mumbai is much safer than before with around 1,000 Quick Response Teams (QRTs) which were not there earlier. I have armed them to the teeth with the most modern weapons. I have got the bullet-proof vehicles. If we had spent 36 crores of rupees last year, my spending by 31 March will be 92 crores. I am spending 92 crores only on terrorism preparation, more on combat vehicles, on QRT equipment, training, etc, an increase of almost 300 percent. If the parade I had shown you on 26/11 was impressive, what I am getting now is three times more impressive. That is my effort. I have convinced the government that we should spend money, to make the police better and stronger. Earlier, before 26/11, only 56 men were getting twice their salary and now there are 1,500 men in that category. There is no comparison between the numbers 56 and 1,500. It is a morale booster. Do you think the public perception of the police has changed? Definitely. Media has also helped in changing the perception of the people about the police. It is a joint effort. In recent months you have initiated several steps in motivating your men, through training. What steps you are taking to sustain that motivation? We have given them double their salary; we are going to give them more and more rewards; name the best officer and cop every month, so that they will be remembered. I am giving them more the DG's insignia and more medals. I am sure the Mumbai police will respond to these positive stimuli. These measures enthuse them to come out of their shell and do much better. Will they be pro-active? Absolutely. They are already proactive. You have many ongoing initiatives such as Jagrut Mumbaikar, Alert Mumbaikar, copconnect. etc. Have you been reviewing their progress? I have been reviewing all these programmes. Jagrut Mumbaikar is doing very well and people are responding to it enthusiastically. The campaign copconnect.in promoted through Shah Rukh Khan and various others in cinema theatres, is catching up well. Then there is 'Hamarisuraksha' which is also doing extremely well. For about 12 -14 years only 4,000 people have registered with it. Now, their number has shot up to 25,000, which is a phenomenal jump. That is tremendous success for me. Hamarisuraksha.com is a user-friendly software, where any senior citizen can enter his photograph, information about his relatives, whom to contact. There is a separate programme about his servants to be recorded; you can use a webcam and it is very user-friendly and anybody can operate. Most of the recent robberies and crimes were committed by the servants, whether in Malabar Hill or Malad areas. This website is very useful to keep a watch on the servants, to warn them and to track them down if necessary. People are encouraged and the credibility gap has thus been filled now. It's a good indication. The Mumbai Police is being looked at by the people in a positive and credible light. Of course, we have promoted the campaign. No fruit will fall on your head by merely looking at it. You have to make efforts, publicize, inform, meet the people and convince them. Tell us about your passion for the welfare and wellbeing of the police force… We have done extremely well in this field. Recently Home Minister R. R. Patil was at the police hospital which is being refurbished renovated at the cost of Rs 6.5 crore. We have already launched an ophthalmology centre at the cost of Rs 25 lakhs, with Dr. Natarajan of the Aditya Jyot Eye Hospital posted permanently there. We have also launched an executive health check programme for all the 42,000 men in the force. It is called “Operation Arogya” under which all the men will get a thorough health check-up. We have also got the best OPD centre at the newly reconstructed police hospital. All the doctors are enthusiastic about it. I have just written a personal letter to all the 70 consulting doctors to find out if they are happy and if they want me to do anything to make them more comfortable. There are gymnasiums coming up at various police stations. The Naigoan police headquarters has a gymnasium worth one crore of rupees. I am also rebuilding a kitchen at the police headquarters at a cost of Rs 55 lakhs, which will be most modern and hygienic to cater healthy and nutritious food to the policemen. I have been meeting policemen in large groups every Friday to address them and learn about their grievances. We have also come up with a calendar and distributed it among a select number of people. We are living in a competitive world. Do the children of police men get an equal opportunity to compete with the others? That's what we are giving. In Thane I built a school investing 6-7 crores of rupees; 1400 children are getting the best education there. It is as good as the Singhania School of Thane. Our Rs 18 crore school project is also coming up. It is being executed by the Goenka Educational Trust. It will be as good as any best school in Mumbai. It will accommodate 6,420 children and half of them will be from the police families. It will provide the best English-medium education to children right from the pre-nursery level to the 12th standard. I am sure it will be welcomed by the people. What's your message to the educated youth to motivate them into joining the police force at various levels - from IPS down to the level of the constable? We need good police people so the people do not go on the wrong path. So the IPS officers have got to be the best of the lot. Most of the IPS officers are from IIMs, IITs and are graduates or post graduates. No doubt, the IAS and IPS cadres attract the best talent. But we need good policemen at all other levels. The constables, the sub-inspectors and others. It's a great challenging job to directly help somebody and wipe the tear of a poor man or woman. If you want to work and make the society strong and fight on behalf of the person who cannot on his own fight because of inequalities, this is the service. I enjoyed being here for 34 years. Given a chance, I will start allover again and work for another 34 years as a police officer. I have enjoyed my job by helping people. Ask anybody and they will say, Sivanandhan has helped me in one way or the other. It is matter of service. That is why, it is called the Indian Police Service, not the Indian police job. So I appeal to the youngsters, who have got moral fibre in them to come and join the police service to fight against the evils rather than stay away and be a witness to what is happening. I am definitely happy and proud about the opportunities that I have enjoyed. My job, my career, has been one of the best in the country. I served for six years in the Crime Branch, three years in the CBI, six years in the IB, and six years as Commissioner of Police in Nagpur, Thane and Mumbai, what else can you ask for?