In a significant move aimed at enhancing officer safety, the Rajasthan Police have implemented a new directive: police personnel will no longer show their faces in arrest photographs. Instead, only the backs of the officers apprehending the criminals will be visible in media releases. This order, issued by DGP Rajiv Sharma, is being enforced across the state.
According to officials, the new protocol is intended to protect officers and their families. Public visibility of police faces in photographs could make them easy targets for retaliation by criminals or their associates. Additionally, there is concern that criminals’ relatives or accomplices could attempt to influence or intimidate officers if their identities are known.
Kota City SP Tejaswini Gautam confirmed that all media interactions are now being conducted following this new guideline. While the official order does not elaborate on the reasoning, safety and security concerns are understood to be the primary motivation.
A recent case in Kota demonstrates the implementation of this policy. Police arrested three men involved in defrauding a 70-year-old woman, Vaijayanti Bai of Vasundhara Vihar. The suspects—Prabhu of Jawra, Veerchand of Kanota Jaipur, and Ganesh—tricked the elderly woman into handing over her gold tops by showing her bundles of fake notes. During media coverage, while the suspects’ faces were displayed, the arresting officers posed with their backs to the cameras, in compliance with the new rule.
This change marks a notable shift in police-media interactions in Rajasthan, balancing transparency with the safety of law enforcement personnel.
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