Other States - Orissa   

Rights activist questions new police system

BHUBANESWAR: Orissa may be all set to introduce the police commissionerate system in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack from the New Year. Intellectuals, however, fear that enormous power has been vested with the police administration, leaving little room for citizens to “raise voice.”

“The new police system does not contain any provisions to address the issue of accountability of the police,” says city-based human rights activist Biswapriya Kanungo.

When the Union Home Ministry raised this point, the State Home Department gave “very vague” clarification, saying that accountability of the police had elaborately been dealt with in the 8th and final report of the National Police Commission, he said.

Mr. Kanungo said that the State government did not spell out the details of dos and don’ts for police officials. He questioned wisdom of the government in imposing the commissionerate system by handing over command and control to the police when the law and order situation did not worsen. “The new system, without adequate check and balance, will definitely curtail the basic democratic rights of citizens,” Mr. Kanungo said.

Expressing similar concern, High Court lawyer Bibhu Prasad Tripathy said: “Though the Urban Police Act has provided enormous power to the police, it has not provided any space for protecting the life and liberty of the people of the two cities.” “The government has not yet put a complaint mechanism in place against the police as per the Supreme Court directive and has filed compliance report by filing an affidavit that it has given power to Lokpal, which is not the mandate of law,” Mr. Tripathy said.

“The crucial issue is how to involve the community in police work. The Act has not spoken in so many words about community policing,” he said. Rights activists also said that the new Act was brought to the fore in haste. “There have not been adequate consultations with community, civil society groups and academicians before publishing the gazette notification,” Mr. Kanungo said. A committee appointed by the Assembly visited cities where the system was functioning to assess and make its recommendations.

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