Be extra vigilant and sensitive, CM tells police bosses

OST Bureau

Bhubaneswar, Jan 11 :

The state police need to be extra vigilant and sensitive to prevent crimes against women and children, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik told senior police officials while addressing the concluding ceremony of the 2-day senior police officers’ meet here on Saturday.

“ Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other less privileged sections of society also need to be dealt with great care, empathy and concern. We should take proactive measures in protecting them. This would go a long way in improving the overall image of the Police force in the eyes of the society,” the Chief Minister said.

“ The police leadership should focus on making policing more and more service oriented, transparent and accountable. Police officers at the cutting edge level need to be sensitized to treat people with dignity and to work with a sense of service,” the chief minister remarked .

Referring to the Maoist menace the Chief Minister observed that although the efforts of Odisha Police have restricted the ‘lawless activities’ of CPI Maoists in a number of districts, much more needs to be done in order to to contain the activities of  Maoists  in parts of Malkangiri, Koraput, Bolangir, Nuapada, Rayagada, Bargarh, Kalahandi and Nawarangpur districts.

“We have to continue to train and equip our forces to be in a position to counter the Maoist challenges. I will  also advise the police  to see that innocent citizens in the Maoist affected areas are protected and are not unduly harassed  as  a result of our operations,”  the Chief Minister said.

Responding to the demand for more manpower for effective policing in the state, the chief minister said a massive recruitment drive had been undertaken to augment the strength of Police in the state.

“About 6300 Constables, Sepoys, Assistant Drivers have been recruited during the year. 313 posts in different ranks of Police have been created to man the new police stations in Western Odisha particularly in the districts of Bolangir, Bargarh, Nuapada and Kalahandi. 1200 posts have been sanctioned in the first phase to raise the Odisha Industrial Security force to meet the much needed requirement of the industries in the state,” he said.

Expressing satisfaction over the fact that strong action has been taken against those responsible for cheating the public in the name of Chit funds and other such Ponzi schemes, Chief Minister Patnaik conceded that there has been a rise in the number of economic offences in the state and  advised the police to be vigilant so as to prevent such activities in the future.

The two-day conference which concluded today was presided by the DGP Prakash Mishra and was attended by over 110 senior officials including all district Superintendents of Police, range IGs and DIGs, commandants of all armed police battalions, officers of Home Guards and Fire Services, State Vigilance and other police establishments. The conference saw the senior officials deliberating on a host of issues including the ongoing Maoist menace, crimes against women, community policing, human rights violation, protection of weaker sections, highway and coastal policing.