Constables need to be sensitised: Wajahat Habibullah

In an interview with ET, Wajahat Habibullah, Chairman, NCM, shares the views of the commission on various issues.

What are NCM’s views on rising communal tensions?

I met UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav to bring to his notice several complaints which we have received about people being harassed for being Muslims. There has been an increase in such complaints in the last couple of years. The primary problem is the lines on which the police is organised. The force is very much an imperial one, designed to serve rulers.

Will police reforms help?

The commission has given it much thought and we have tied up with the National Police Academy to sensitize the police on minority issues. We have found that while officer class does not have real issues. It is the constabulary which has to be sensitised. We have devised a curriculum and held the first of our training session in Rajasthan last month.

How have you addressed the issues in AP after blasts?

I saw that within minutes of the Hyderabad blasts all sorts of conjectures were making the rounds from responsible quarters that the Indian Mujahideen and other such groups were involved. Within days, people who had been let off in the Mecca Masjid blasts were picked up for questioning. I wrote to Justice Katju and Justice Verma and spoke to the AP government.

You objected to Kunda DSP’s murder given colour…

It was a criminal act. One has to exercise some discretion on putting a communal tag on any incident. This was a criminal incident not a communal one.