In a striking example of how social media can enforce accountability, a police constable's suspension is swift in Rajasthan’s Dungarpur district after the incident at Bichhiwara police station has gone viral, where social media has turned into a viral issue and made the police constable’s case very public.
An elderly man had come to the station to file a complaint. There he encountered constable Reena Garg who seemed uninterested in his complaint. Garg set both of her feet on the table and she was all but ignoring his good manners and respect for the senior citizen.
In a police station bystander caught the moment and posted the image online. The image quickly spread on social media platforms, causing outrage among citizens. Public servant arrogance and entitlement are a common trait among public servants who are supposed to serve the people, the viral post showed.
The uproar forced Rajasthan Police to take immediate cognizance. Dungarpur Superintendent of Police Manish Kumar took action immediately and suspended the disgraced constable. It was welcomed as the only way to get the public back to trust in the police.
Such misconduct would have gone unnoticed or gone unpunished in the past. With viral images and videos, even those in positions of authority can’t escape the microscope. What the episode has shown is that public accountability is no longer only in an official setting but is increasingly being driven by citizen voices amplified online.
The suspension of Reena Garg is not only a punishment but is a recognition of social media’s power in holding institutions accountable. Police have an obligation to serve the public, but after this viral image, the police failed to do that and so many officers did not. As we are living in the digital age, misconduct is harder to hide and accountability is likely to be an inevitable by nature of the job.
