Assembly panel suggests measures for crime control in major Odisha cities

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, July 10:

Expressing concern over the rising law and order situation in some major cities of Odisha, the State Assembly Standing Committee for the Home department has suggested a slew of measures.

The Committee, in its report submitted in the State Assembly on Wednesday, has said that besides the capital city of Bhubaneswar, the crime rate has gone up alarmingly in Brahmapur, Sambalpur and Rourkela that have become dens for the criminals.

Considering the situation, the Committee has suggested the state government to set up police commissionerate in these three cities.

“While the state government has spent over Rs 2000 crore for crime prevention and modernisation of police force, the state police have failed to curb the crime rate, especially in these three cities in the south and western Odisha due to rapid urbanisation and industrialisation”, the Committee said in its report.

Besides, the Committee has also suggested to the state government intensification of patrolling to curb highway robbery and theft, set up highway traffic police stations and adequate security arrangements at the main check gates in these cities.

The panel has also suggested opening of cyber crime police stations in all districts in phases with priority to these three cities where crimes relating to bank ATM theft have gone up.

Apart from this, field offices of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the State Crime Branch must be opened in more cities, including these three as well as in Cuttack, to deal with land mafia and brokers indulging in fake real estate deals. The state government should appoint a community police officer for each field office, it suggested.

Other suggestions of the Committee are replacement of 25 percent of old police vehicles with new vehicles, conversion of police control rooms to integrated modern control rooms, tightening of security in Puri and Sri Jagannath temple for the ensuing Nabakalebara festival, upgradation of Fire Training Institute in Bhubaneswar to a training academy, setting up of a special security battalion to strengthen jail security and elaborate security measures to keep a strict vigil on 16 jails and 8 highly sensitive jails in the Maoist-affected districts.