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Vishwas Nangre Patil, Superintendent Police (Pune Rural) at 33 has a back that makes ramrods look bent, and he bends it better than Beckham to give his huge force of 1650 constables, 159 officers, 62 clerical staff, 8 Dy Sp’s and two additional SP’s a clear message, "Work above and beyond the call of duty"
Sanjay A Sayani | Pashan
They call him the Rave man, crime buster, super cop and then take him to the cleaners as the devil incarnate, yet Patil is above the muck and takes it all in his abundant stride.
Hailing from the back of beyond village, Kokrud (population 2000!) in the heartland of the state, he recalls, "When I first got the interview call for the job, was also the first time I sat in a train! Two ladies were sitting on my daytime seat, and guess what I didn’t even know I could occupy it, so I spent 24 hours on the top berth."
He’s come a long way. "Job’s challenging, he declares, not tough". Up at the crack of dawn, he’s on wireless conferencing, an activity he’s flagged off, talking to 28 police stations that come under his jurisdiction, "getting reports from them 24 x 7 on their activities."
Has he set up any new schemes after his experience as an ASP in Dhulia, after which he was additional SP in Nanded, the SP in Latur, and finally in Ahmednagar (the largest district in the state) before taking over as SP Pune (Rural)? "Oh yes, in fact it’s called the performance evaluation system, and McKenzie had used it as their pilot project in Ahmednagar. Today I conduct monthly exams for all my officers with 1800 marks, 600 each for law and order, crime, and administration and welfare!"
How does his force look at him? "That you will have to ask them, I am a tough taskmaster, I even shout, but at the end of the day I don’t spoil their service records unless it’s something deliberate that they have done."
Dacoities are rampant, in fact Pune district follows Nagar , what steps have been taken to combat that menace? "We have set up village defense committees, given ID cards to 23,000 people spread over 1800 villages, and the result, we have noticed a drastic fall in dacoity cases."
Controversy is Patil’s bum chum, in fact in his very first posting as station head of Phulambri police station, he had seven cases filed against him in three months, so how does he react to being called a media star and hungry one at that? (Laughs) "Anything but that! I am not media hungry"
Surprisingly till date Patil is unaware as to who tipped the media about the rave party raids that hit headlines and hogged news time on channels, "It was a blessing in disguise, at least whatever happened was transperent, and in any case the media is such a highly educated forum, so they know best!"
The SP sincerely believes that youngsters should be given a chance to redeem themselves while the peddlers should be harshly dealt with, and while two locals are out on bail, three Nigerians caught are behind bars, subsequent raids stemming from the rave party bust have led the cops to a veritable treasure trove of drugs from coke to hash and Magic pills to MDM’s. His take, "Narco- terrorism is a growing threat not only to national security but because of the kind of needles used to ingest these substances and advocacy of free sex, AIDS cases are on the rise. Government, police and NGO’s need to give it a serious look."
So how does Vishwas chill out? "Two hours of swimming, gymming, yoga and Pranayam, and spending all my free time with the family, that is mum, wife, and a four year old daughter and a two month old son!"
Finally if someone called him as the chief guest to a rave party how would he react? (guffaws) "In fact a lady friend sent me an sms to that effect, and I replied, it starts with music, then drugs and then free sex so think ten times before inviting me!"
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