Guwahati: Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of Assam, on Monday said that policing the state should be about tackling criminals head-on. In an address to police inspectors and officers-in-charge (OCs) of police stations, the chief minister said, ‘We cannot aim at their chest, but we can shoot them in the leg’.
Considering media reports that at least six unnamed criminals have been wounded by gunshot since May 10, when they were evading Assam police custody, Mr. Sarma said Assam police should not fear any campaign of being called a ‘trigger-happy’ force. Instead, they should focus on making sure justice is done, and they should not spare criminals like rape suspects or drug traffickers.
In the last two months, police have fired on cattle smugglers, a police officer allegedly involved in abduction, a 62-year-old man accused of raping and killing a minor girl, and a dacoit and drug peddler. Seventh alleged criminal, wanted in connection with the rape and murder of two sisters in western Assam’s Kokrajhar district, was shot in the leg when he tried to resist arrest and flee. It appears that most of those wounded had some conflict with police, either in custody or soon after or before their arrest, which some analysts described as a ‘pattern’.
During the same period, 11 others, including nine alleged extremists from Karbi Anglong, have also been killed in encounters with the armed forces around the state. During an encounter, police also killed a notorious criminal from Sibsagar and a former officer of the Railway Protection Force, involved in a kidnapping incident.
In two years, Mr. Sarma plans to make the transfer of inspectors mandatory. He reiterated that the people will see the changes within policing soon. Officers-in-charge and police inspectors will have to move after two years of service. Transfers and postings of police officers will not be influenced by politics. ‘The Director-General of Police will decide it based on the efficiency of the officer, for which a criteria will also be set’, he said.
Also, he directed officers-in-charge (OCs) of police stations across the state to go to the nearest hospitals on a regular basis for health checks. The Assam government will provide each of the OCs with a four-wheeler, and if any difficulty traveling by vehicle arises, a bike will be provided so that the police station will be able to function properly.
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The Chief Minister also assured that an amount of Rs 2.5 lakh would also be released to each of the police stations for building police quarters in police stations where land is available. Generators will be provided to police stations without a generator. The chief minister appealed to the police to stop taking bribes and asked the OCs to provide police verification reports within a short time frame. Assuring early filing of charge-sheets, he encouraged the OCs to pay more attention to rape, murder, arms, and drug cases.
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