UNDER FIRE, PUNJAB CM FORMS SEPARATE POLICE WING FOR INVESTIGATION

Cops to be dedicated for probe and prosecution duties; Captain orders hiring of 1,200 jail staff; 10,000 constables

CHANDIGARH: Under fire from the opposition parties over recent killings of political leaders in Punjab and resentment brewing within the ruling Congress, the Captain Amarinder Singh government has decided to separate the investigation duties of police from law and order function to strengthen policing and ensure swift probe of heinous crimes.

Under the new system, there were will be separate cadres — investigation units (IUs) and pairvi (follow-up) units (PUs) — up to the level of police stations. “The IUs would be solely dedicated to serious and heinous crimes to ensure that the investigation of such cases is completed in a time-bound manner. At present, the conviction rate in heinous cases such as rape, kidnap ping/ abduction, robbery and dacoity is in the range of 15-30%, while the overall conviction rate for all crimes, including those under the Excise Act as well as minor cases, stands at around 49.5%. With the creation of a separate investigation unit, this is expected to go up. The pairvi units will ensure proper presentation and contesting of criminal cases before the trial courts,” a government spokesman said.

Identifying staff shortage as a key concern, the CM also issued instructions to the home department to fill the backlog of vacancies in Punjab Police, including jail staff, and start the recruitment process on an urgent basis and complete the process by November 30, an official spokesperson said.

With no recruitment having taken place in the prisons department for along time, the CM, who is also the state home minister, has made filling of vacancies in jails the top agenda for his department.

He has ordered recruitment of 1,200 jail staff in a bid to tighten the noose around criminals and gangsters languishing in jails, amid reports that some of them continue to operate from within the confines of the prisons.

He also approved recruitment of 2,000 police constables in the current year, followed by an equal number to be recruited every year, for the next four years.

Besides, the CM has ordered appointment of constables and sub-inspectors in the intelligence wing to ensure that the department is fully geared to meet the new challenges posed by radicals and criminal gangs in the state. The CM had chaired a meeting of top police officials on Thursday.

It has been decided that the investigation units will be monitored to ascertain if the investigation in a particular case is being carried out in a proper manner or not. The separation of the two functions will also help in ensuring high conviction rate by infusing professionalism in investigation, and will also create a better police-public interface, said the spokesperson.

The separation of duties is also in line with a Supreme Court directive and Punjab and Haryana high court’s order.