By GK Iangrai
In response to the article, “Meghalaya Police: MDA Govt’s Achilles Heel” by Patricia Mukhim (Aug 29, 2019) Meghalaya Police gives below it rejoinder.
Time and time again the department has been degraded with various allegations which have tarnished it. Similar allegations have been levied again because of a proposal for change of trade, which for information of all is still under consideration by the Government, and as of date only a proposal.
However it was poignant to read that inferences were already drawn from the proposal, terming it a racket and further lamenting that an amount of one lakh has been fixed as the minimum bid. The proposal has also been branded as a conversion packet which is a package deal that comes with postings in different districts for the highest bidder to recover
the amount. Such pillory is nothing but a conjecture based on erroneous information. It is also significant to point out that the proposal which is being disparaged was permitted in the past to strengthen the Un-Armed Constabulary. In this instance too it was proposed because of the sanctioning of new posts and that vacancies have already arisen despite the recruitment of new recruits concluded recently. The new recruits are currently undergoing training and fresh recruitment process which will be initiated will at least over a year to complete, thereby further increasing the vacancies in the intervening period. Further as per the proposal, the inter-se seniority of the Armed/Battalion Constables who are willing to change their trade will be fixed after the Un-Armed Branch Constables. Hence, the seniority of Un-Armed Branch Constables will not be affected.
The article states that the present establishment does not have a pro-active action plan. This is contradictory to the actual scenario. A paramount example is in addressing issues related to crime against women and children. With an aim to address crimes against women and children, Women Police Stations have been created in the eleven districts of the
state in 2018. Anti-Human Trafficking Units have also been set up in each district, and there is also a Special Cell for Women and Children and Special Juvenile Cell, to respond to crimes in which women and children are victims.
To manage and regulate traffic within the state, various traffic branches have been set up. To facilitate movement of vehicles for general public especially during emergency situations, 14 two wheelers were launched recently under the nomenclature ‘First Responder’, with one of the goals is to help the general public reach hospitals, or other institutions on time. The department has also introduced Unarmed Aerial Vehicles (UAV) to superintend traffic congestions apart from the Close Circuit Television (CCTV) which have been installed in various locations; the purpose of the UAV is to locate the point of congestion to enable police personnel to clear the congestion and to monitor traffic movement throughout the day.
Another important contribution which has created a huge impact in the society is the Anti Narcotics Task Force, which has detected and curtailed peddling of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS), consignments of NDPS have been seized and peddlers have been arrested from time to time in various parts of the state, and the accomplishment of these Task Force is evident from the media coverage.
Cyber Crime cases have been reported from various parts of the state. To ease the lodging of complaints a Cyber Crime Wing Police Station was established in 2016, to investigate cases and to provide awareness to the netizens through training and awareness programmes. Cyber frauds from across the country have been arrested and the process of completing the investigation of cases are also inter related with Forensic examination of electronic evidences and other legal procedures. Investigation of cases is an ongoing process; not at all investigation of cases can be completed in a short span of time. Every case is investigated with the purpose of delivering justice to the victims and persecuting the accused, but at times due to
unavoidable circumstances, the investigation of cases are prolonged until the ingredients for persecuting the accused persons are fulfilled.
In this regard, numerous trainings programmes have been imparted from time to time by the Districts/Battalions/
To facilitate tourist inflow into the state, the department will be deploying tourist police in various tourist destinations of the state, and to alleviate victims/witnesses of vehicle accidents, the department will be initiating thc Namar Jong Phi Trauma Counsellor project, whereby police officers and personnel will be trained with psychological avenues, so as to help the victims/witnesses of road accidents.
Transfers and postings are effected due to promotions to higher ranks,
superannuation, and recruitment of officers and personnel. By virtue of promotion, superannuation or recruitment, vacancies in Districts/Battalions/ Organizations are created and these are to be filled by transferring Officers and personnel from one place to another. The department functions smoothly when the strength of the unit is ample. Whenever there are deficiencies in any unit, the department mitigates the vacant position at the earliest by posting officers and personnel in these vacant post. In the course of providing adequate strength to various units many officers and personnel are transferred and posted in different Districts/Battalions/
It is a misnomer that transfers and postings are given to the highest bidder. If officers and personnel are not transferred to different places of posting, then how will the department fill the vacancies arising out of promotions and superannuation, especially considering that recruitment does not happen every year and there is stipulated time for promotion from a lower rank to the next rank.
With regard to Police Stations and their current infrastructures, efforts are being put into renovating and revamping the Police Stations. As Government infrastructures requires due processes such as sanction and approval for improving and expanding the infrastructures, hence, all works cannot be taken up at once. Some Police Stations have been set up in
requisitioned buildings/premises due to non-availability of land and in such instances; there are hindrances and limitations in setting up of infrastructures.A police officer who has to perform duties such as investigations, law and order, security arrangements and others, will not have time to prepare food for arrested/ detained persons,
nor can he direct his subordinates to do so. To ensure that basic necessities are provided to the arrested so that their health does not suffer the Officer-in-Charge has to arrange food from available outlets. This fundamental duty of a police officer cannot be construed as allowing the hoteliers to run their illegal businesses such as selling liquor and commercial sex. It must be borne in mind that denying food to a person arrested/detained may lead to
deterioration of health, which will in turn attract legal ramifications against the Officer-in- Charge, so providing basic amenities to such persons cannot be interpreted as quid pro quo.
As a leader of the police force, the DGP is addressing the basic requirements of not only police stations but also of the entire department. The issue of vehicles has been pending in the department. It is impossible to provide every unit or officer with new vehicles, as purchasing new vehicles puts the exchequer under stress. However, the DGP being delegated with powers to requisition vehicles has been providing around (100) hundred requisitioned vehicles monthly (which includes LMV, MMV,
HMV), to every unit in need of vehicles. Proposals for procuring new vehicles have been sent to the Government. Upon sanctioning of the same, the units will be provided accordingly. Allotment of vehicles, as alleged is not done by a single officer but through established standard procedures. Allotment of vehicles to officers is as per the Grade of the officer and not through any blessings.
The welfare of the Police Force is a priority for the DGP. Eligible police officers and personnel were promoted from time to time. Since his taking over charge as DGP, around 372 officers and personnel of various ranks have been promoted, thereby ensuring that they are not deprived of their entitlements. Moreover, new infrastructures are being constructed beginning November 2018. These include infrastructures for Meghalaya Police Academy, 3rd MLP Battalion, 5th• ML Battalion, 6th MLP Battalion, Forensic Science Laboratory, Storage Facilities for NDPS related cases and hosts of quarters/barracks for officers and personnel.
The DGP who advocates for healthy police public relationship, has facilitated an easier mode of communication through social media for the public to lodge their grievances. WhatsApp number 6033090114 has also been activated for easier communication for the general public. The same was widely used to verify facts by various individuals on a daily basis. Apart from these, each district has been mapped with Control Room Numbers which is available in the Meghalaya Police website. Soon the Dial 100 project will be implemented in certain districts of the state.
Meghalaya Police today is hugely unfit, is an insinuation devoid of facts. Law and order was handled impeccably by the Department as was evident from two major breakdowns in Shillong and Nartiang. Though the writer alleges that Meghalaya Police lacks training in crowd control, the fact remains that Meghalaya Police has a separate Law and Order component under Special Force-10 which were deployed during both law and order situations. The resourceful training inculcated to these Rangers helped save precious lives during these separate incidents.
The structure of Meghalaya Police Website is currently being upgraded and information which has to be uploaded are being compiled and verified before uploading, the daily crime reports are being updated daily and the statistics of crime incidents will also be updated shortly. Regarding cases filed in 2018, some have reached finality while some are still pending investigation. Since these cases were registered in 2018, in all probably the trial of most of these cases where charge-sheet has been submitted are yet to begin. When trial is completed, the same will be intimated to all media houses as per procedure. The most recent case of conviction i.e. Mawlai PS Case No. 6(3)2103, in which the accused was awarded life imprisonment by the Hon’ble Special Judge POCSO, East Khasi Hills, Shillong was intimated to all news agencies.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) is not defunct but it is investigating various cases relating to corruption, here it is also worth emphasizing that cases of corruption registered under Prevention of Corruption Act, requires prior sanction of appropriate Government for investigation and prosecution, which is as per the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment)
Act, 2018. The Amendment Act also extends protection to former officials as well, for offences done while in office and that it provides for a directory (not mandatory) time period of 3 (three) months within which the appropriate government must convey the decision on such sanction. Hence, in accordance with such acts, actions are being taken by the not only ACB but by other Investigating Officers of the district.
Therefore, the exhortations that ACB needs an overhaul; that Meghalaya Police is creating mutiny; that Meghalaya police will become a force that is corrupt to the core and without resilience to fight crime are presumptions based on ambiguous information which are misleading.
This rebuttal concludes with a famous quote of C. P. Scott, “Comment is free but facts are sacred.”
(The writer is Asstt. Inspector General of Police (A)
Meghalaya)