Criticism on Civic volunteer system in Westbengal & How Politics-Civic volunteer nexus is working in west bengal ?

Kolkata Police, following the shocking role of its civic volunteer Sanjay Roy in a doctor's rape and murder case, has directed all unit heads to ensure that all personnel, including civic volunteers, adhere to the force's rules and discipline. Abuse of power has become routine for such organisations.this crime is another example of how the force raised for community engagement is "turning rogue" 

CM Mamata Banerjee Govt introduced it in 2018  has set a target of recruiting 1,30,000 civic volunteers, according to the chief minister’s office’s website. Till date 1,19,916 volunteers have been recruited.

Qualification for recruitment 

The minimum age and qualification to be a civil volunteer is 20 years and Class VIII pass respectively. They are posted in a nearby or same locality of which they are a resident. A volunteer gets an honorarium of around ₹15,000 per month.

Officially, their recruitment is done through an interview conducted by an enrollment committee. Preferences are given to those candidates who have the experience of being an NCC cadet / Boy Scout / NSS Guide / Civil Defence Volunteer or possess driving or other technical skills.

In reality, As data I read from news papers says , the only thing that matters is the recommendation of the local leader of the ruling party. The officer-in-charge of the local police station prepares a list of recommended names and sends it to the enrollment committee for selection.

What happens after recruitment ?

After induction on a contractual basis, many allegedly start wielding their political clout and misuse their embedment in the police force.

Criticism on civic volunteer system 

1)The police department that is fighting civic volunteers' indiscipline since they "bypass all set norms by using 'contacts' will maintain a separate logbook of their daily activities. The police department maintains a general diary that tracks all work done by its regular staff.

2)According to a report in The Telegraph, critics of the civic volunteer system say they are untrained in law, policing and human rights and just have to keep the local Trinamool "dada" happy to keep the job and have the contract renewed.

3)The civic volunteers are recruited only on the basis of their proximity to the party

4)Their jobs are to run personal errands for the cops, extort money on their behalf, run surveillance on Opposition politicians. And whenever Mamata Banerjee addresses a public meeting or attends a government programme in the districts, they discard the uniform and turn up as Trinamool supporters to fill the venue cheering loudly.

5)list and the recruitments take place without written tests and interviews, and situation is such that the civic police are controlling the police because of their proximity to the political bosses. 

Data of crimes committed by civic volunteers 

A civic volunteer Pritam Bhattacharya was arrested along with a home guard for his alleged involvement in the 2022 murder of student leader Anis Khan, a firebrand critic of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government.

Another civic volunteer, Raju Halder, was arrested a couple of years ago for allegedly supplying fake examinees to government service exam candidates. He allegedly took ₹2-3 lakh from each candidate.

There were more such instances(data from news papers) where the names of civic volunteers figured in crimes ranging from robbery, blackmailing, harassing motorists to forgery.

That’s not all, police officials said, they even suspect a section of these volunteers is leaking vital information from police stations.

Recruitment process needs to be revamped

True, not all civic volunteers are involved in crime. But their growing involvement in criminal activities calls for a relook into their recruitment process and roles.

Police officials, says  long as the recruitment is done through political recommendation, it will be impossible to rein in the party-backed volunteers.

The rule book for civic volunteers say that they will be liable to be demobilized either temporarily or permanently by deputy commissioner of police, Home Guard Organization, for any of the following reasons — dereliction of duty, undisciplined conduct, involvement in any criminal case other than petty cases but there is no effective action till date .