Policemen missed out daily checking drill around the bank
LUCKNOW: A review to check police alertness on Tuesday, after the cash loot and murder incident, revealed that cops were not even carrying out the routine drill to check banks and suspicious elements in the vicinity of such places.
Such drills are conducted before the start of bank working hours around 10 am, but the review revealed that this routine exercise at Vibhuti Khand branch of Bank of India was undertaken on only nine days in October.
Moreover, the drill was often conducted late, after 11.30 am, and it was yet to be performed on Monday when the assailants targeted the cashier at 10.30 am.
Confirming the fact, SSP (Lucknow) Kalanidhi Naithani said the register maintained at the Vibhuti Khand police station suggested that the routine checking drill was conducted only on nine days in October.
He said head constable Vishwanath, who was deployed for checking of Bank of India branch, had been suspended for negligence in duty.
The SSP said a departmental inquiry was ordered against inspector Mathura Rai, who was SHO of Vibhuti Khand police station till Sunday night, for bad supervision of duty management and beat management. Rai was transferred from the Vibhuti Khand police station only few hours before the incident on Monday morning. Inspector DK Upadhyay replaced him as new SHO of Vibhuti Khand police station.
“Departmental inquiry has also been ordered against two teams of Police Response Vehicles (PRV) number 509 and 2642 that have patrolling duties in the same locality,” he said.
He said the new station house officer (SHO) and in-charges of other police stations of Lucknow had been directed to conduct daily drill and warned of stringent action in case of any laxity.