Guwahati, May 29, 2007: No more multitasking for Assam’s beleaguered police force. The Tarun Gogoi government intends to bifurcate the police department into three wings with specific work profiles. One will maintain general law and order, another will look after VIP security and the third will be for counter-insurgency operations.
Police personnel from the top to the bottom rungs have long been saddled with multiple tasks, robbing them of their edge.
An official; source said “final touches” were being given to the bifurcation plan after a series of formal and informal meetings involving the chief minister’s office, police department, district administration and Raj Bhavan.
According to the draft plan, one of the dedicated wings will combat general crime, including theft, rape, burglary and cheating. The second will be asked to maintain law and order, including participation in counter-insurgency operations and management of public rallies.
A third force will monitor VIP movements and provide them cover within and outside the state.
Although the finer details are still being worked out, it has been decided that personnel from each wing will be trained to gather intelligence and handle modern weapons.
“Senior personnel of the wing that will deal with militancy might be sent for training to the Counter-Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School at Vairengte in Mizoram. The core component of the training regimen will be on how to deal with the public while gathering information,” the source said.
The move would eventually help fix responsibility on policemen as they will be assigned only for specific purposes.
Dispur has no option but to put in place a security system which is accountable, instead of allowing things to drift. The Tarun Gogoi government, after all, wants to curb the growing ire of the common people.
“Only when we give a policeman a defined role can we ask him for results. We know there are demands to ensure accountability and this move is aimed at fixing responsibility. At present, a policeman does everything, from looking after traffic, crime, general law and order, VIP movement as well as investigations. As a result, he is stretched too far to do justice to any of these roles. Therefore, it would be in order to give a person a defined role and then fix responsibility,” he said.
However, this is easier said than done because separate wings will entail redeployment and fresh recruitment of personnel and resources.
“We are assessing both our manpower and resource requirements,” the source said. He went on to add, “These three wings plus the existing traffic wing will, we think, go a long way in improving the situation. Kerala bifurcated its police force in November last year, following a Supreme Court directive on January 11, 2007, on implementation of police reforms. It has started yielding results,” the source pointed out.
Dispur is planning to fill all vacancies, beginning with Guwahati, which has become the main target of attacks by militants.
Source: Telegraph
