The Professional Party of India (PPI) held a symposium at the Tilak Smarak auditorium on Wednesday evening on Police Reforms Need of Emerging India,where activist Medha Patkar delivered the keynote address.
Patkar came down heavily on the functioning of the police forces and called for an urgent need for reorganisation of the department.
Former commissioner of police Pune Jayant Umranikar said on how corruption in the department was a reflection of the malaise in the society at large and elaborated on the blockades put forth by the system in the effective implementation of the reforms.
Other panelists included activist Vivek Velankar and former IAS officer Ajit Nimbalkar who also held forth on the need to free the police from the clutches of politicians and bureaucracy for it to be an effective tool that can make a difference to public life and safety.
The symposium ended with a Question and Answer session with the audience. Earlier a Legal Aid Handbook put together by the PPI was released by the speakers on the occasion.