The second most powerful person in Mauritius is the commissioner of police. A little-realized fact. The commissioner of police is not a politician. He could of course turn into one later, like our good friend Raj Dayal, but, right now, the question does not arise.

The commissioner of police thus has a different agenda from that of the prime minister. It is a good thing. Depending, of course, on what the agenda is. We are in a situation right now, where the prime minister has total confidence in his commissioner of police. Another good thing. As long as this utter confidence does not translate itself into utter gullibility.

There have been disturbing rumours from members of the police force from different quarters, that information, vital information, relating to security issues has been on occasions withheld from the government.

To what extent is this true, only a select few people in the country know. And the prime minister does not form part of this select few. At the end of the day, the prime minister knows only what he is told. Difficult to believe? OK, one question to the prime minister: Does he know that a few citizens of this country, who are guaranteed the constitutional right to privacy, to their freedom of movement, of expression, may have their telephone conversations tapped on a daily basis? He?d better check. Checking with the commissioner of police would, however, be a waste of time. The answer is bound to be ?not true.?

The commissioner of police is vested with formidable powers. The Constitution confers upon him the right not to be ?subject to the direction or control of any person or authority?. Even worse, this is ?in the exercise of his responsibilities and powers with respect to the use and operational control of the force.? Do you know what kind of force we are talking about? We are talking of the Special Mobile Force, the National Security Service, the Anti-drug and Smuggling Unit, the National Coast Guard and the Police Helicopter Squad among others. One person and, one person alone, is directly in charge of all this.

The security division of the prime minister?s office has been, to all intents and purposes, dismantled. So, now, no one questions the commissioner of police.

Potentially and, in actual fact, the person holding the office of commissioner of police could, if the idea occurred to him, lead a military coup and topple the country over. If he is not that way inclined but is otherwise sensitive to the adage that absolute power corrupts absolutely, he can become even more dangerous.

This is not an over-reaction to some obscure piece of information received nor is it sensationalism. This is reality or a perceived version thereof. Any force that operates the way the police force does, unquestioned, with all those resources at its disposal, becomes potentially dangerous and operates like a mafia; any man, who heads it, becomes potentially dangerous.

It is the duty of the head of the government to ensure that such power is checked and that information is not manipulated. Or even worse, the unspeakable - that the prime minister is not being manipulated.