Retired Odisha Cop Polishes Shoes To Protest Against ‘Corruption’

Ujjwal Kumar Brahman, who retired as Superintendent of Police of Bhubaneswar Vigilance Department in February 2010, sat under a tree in front of the SP’s office in Balasore on Monday, polishing the shoes of common people throughout the day for free as a mark of protest against alleged corruption and negligence in the SP office.

Brahma, who has also served in the police department for around 10 years, alleged that nowadays police personnel are not doing their duties earnestly. Reportedly, he has been staging this unique protest in front of all government offices here, since Gandhi Jayanti this year.

“I have served as the Inspector In-Charge (IIC) of Rajgangpur Police Station, Raiboga and Bandamunda PSs and Tensa police outpost. I used to enjoy my job serving the people back then. But these days, the cops do not even report to work on time, forget about efficiency and integrity,” said Brahma, adding that the existing police policy is a corrupt one.

He further added that after observing the spiritless attitude of the police personnel in the state for years, the Government of Odisha finally came up with the 5T Model of Governance recently.

This year, not just India but the rest of the world is celebrating the Mahatma’s 150th Birth anniversary, with individuals and organisations (government or otherwise) doing many things that they believe would have impressed the messenger of peace and tolerance. Ujjwal Kumar Brahma’s unique way of protesting also seems the kind of action that the Mahatma would have approved of. It surely has generated positive reaction from the people of Balasore!