Guwahati: Grappling to control the spate in insurgents’ activities, the Assam government has decided to strengthen the intelligence wing of Assam Police and make it a separate cadre, much on the lines of the Intelligence Bureau.
The decision to revamp the unit and make it a separate cadre was taken at a law and order review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi at his official residence late evening Wednesday.
Chief Secretary Jitesh Khosla, Principal Secretary (Home and Political) MGVK Bhanu, DGP Khagen Sarma and a host of senior officers of the home department and the state police headquarters were present in the meeting.
Gogoi asked Khosla to initiate a slew of measures aimed at strengthening the intelligence network so as to raise the level of efficiency and competency of the police force in maintaining law and order and combating other crimes, official sources said Thursday.
He asked the chief secretary to take up steps by separating the Intelligence Branch from the police. ” It is of crucial importance that appropriate training inputs are given for developing the right attitude and for imparting the relevant knowledge and skills to improve the intelligence gathering mechanism to meet the growing challenges of terrorist and insurgent outfits. To improve professionalism and enhance operational efficiency, use of the latest technologies by intelligence personnel is a must,” Gogoi said.
Principal Secretary, Home & Political, MGVK Bhanu said the decision to set up a separate intelligence cadre is aimed at raising a set of officials with the correct aptitude and training along with more professionalism for the task.
“Due to frequent transfers, task of intelligence gathering suffers. Now personnel who are recruited in the intelligence cadre will go through a specialised training that will help in developing the aptitude and orientation that are required for the specialised task.”
Proposed to be set up on the lines of the Intelligence Bureau, the intelligence cadre will have a set of personnel, who will be recruited through a separate procedure and will remain there till superannuation.
The chief minister also asked the chief secretary to initiate steps to make the police stations more people-friendly. “A citizen who visits a police station would feel ensured only if the station has better waiting rooms and more spacious office for police personnel. Our police force needs to be friendly, responsible, and must have compassion and empathy for the people,” Gogoi said.
He also underscored the need for improving the working conditions of constables who constitute a sizeable chunk of the police force.
“Working conditions for the constables have to be improved upon. Housing and other amenities have to be provided to them,” he added. (UNI)
