A police officer sports snazzy shades as he patrols a street in Patna. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Patna, Aug. 17: Men in uniform seem too preoccupied nowadays with the way they look rather than the work they do.

Branded sunglasses, funky ornaments, which include gold chains and rings, and shiny motorcycles — police officers seem to be wearing their attitude on their sleeves. Some even tuck their firearms under the belt without the holster, as if to intimidate the masses.

But all this show-off business is not helping in crime control, which is the sole responsibility of the police. On the contrary, incidents of crime have surged over the past fortnight.

None of these cases, which concern the common man, has been cracked.

“It is a fact. What is alarming particularly is that many of the officers, mostly probationary sub-inspectors and even some deputy superintendents of police, have been seen carrying their pistols without the holster, which amounts to violation of the police manual. They probably want to flash their weapons, which is intimidating for the common masses,” a senior IPS officer told The Telegraph, on the condition of anonymity.

On the evening of July 24, four armed men barged into the Ashiana flat of a high court advocate and thrashed him and his sister. “In fact, this is a far more serious incident than the recent murders, as it clearly indicates that common people in Patna are not at all safe. It shows that the criminals can just barge into any household whenever they wish to and bash up innocent people without any resistance. People are fast losing confidence in the police. We are not impressed to see the officers stylishly perched on their motorcycles,” said Ashrut Singh, a professor.

The same day police disclosed that a fake website of Patna High Court had duped 175 people after displaying a vacancy that never existed. One Praveen Singh lodged an FIR at Kotwali police station on July 16 in the matter.

In this case too, the police only reacted after nine days.

On July 20, three youths rammed their car into a bridge railing under the influence of liquor. Police detained them before allowing them to walk free without even a medical test, as all of them hailed from rich and influential families. The phone call directing the cops to release them came from a senior police officer of Patna.

“It was a shocker. The police just cleared the air announcing aloud that rich people had the liberty to drink and drive in Patna. Moreover, there have been cases in which some probationary sub-inspectors have been seen loitering around in a drunken state with their friends after dark. The fact that conditions in Patna are not good now should be admitted,” a police officer said.

Senior police officers, preferring anonymity, admitted that the police did not have public support with them.

“The present situation is grim. The cops are free to dress and look smart but rules need to be followed first. According to the manual, a policeman should be free of any ornament while on duty. The junior officers should stop being flimsy and focus on duty. The primary job of the police is to control crime and instil confidence in people,” another police officer added.