The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Quick reaction set-up imperative for police Law & order

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Saturday, Mar 22, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Quick reaction set-up imperative for police Law & order

Is any mock drill conducted periodically to check efficiency, asks S. Vijay Kumar

When armed gangsters opened fire on police and rescued suspected fundamentalists Imam Ali and Hyder Ali from police custody at the Tirumangalam police station on March 7, 2002, the police had clear information on escapees’ vehicle and their route. Though the suspects took a good 30 minutes to drive from Tirumangalam to Madurai on the National Highway, the police could neither intercept nor chase them.

The accused managed to escape conveniently by abandoning the vehicle near Keeraithurai. The reasons cited by the police for the costly miss were communication gap, lack of adequate manpower, non-peak hour (2 p.m. to 5 p.m.) etc.

This was not the first instance where lack of quick or timely reaction of the police enabled suspects involved in grave offences to escape.

In most of the broad daylight murders, police could have nabbed the suspects had there been a proper response mechanism. The city has witnessed murders in busy areas like Anna Nagar, Goripalayam, Tamukkam junction, Munichalai and New Jail Road where police were within reach. In the murder of a girl working in an ice cream parlour at Anna Nagar last week, the Sivaganga Road check post was just metres away. The latest is the attack on a police team engaged in two-wheeler patrol duty on Thursday morning on the busy Vandiyur Lake Park area.

Two policemen intercepted a three-member gang on suspicion and questioned their identity. While two suspects pulled out knives and allegedly assaulted the police, the third suspect snatched the motorcycle. The trio escaped from the scene.

The injured police alerted the Control Room through walkie-talkie and a search operation was launched.

Two of the gangsters were arrested though there is another version doing the rounds that one of them actually surrendered.

The police motorcycle was found abandoned near the K. Pudur industrial estate.

Is there a quick reaction mechanism in place in the city police? If yes, how often is it reviewed? Is any mock drill conducted periodically to check the efficiency of such a mechanism, if it exists?

According to the Inspector General and Commissioner of Police, K. Nandabalan, a striking force team comprising 40 police personnel is positioned at the Armed Reserve for emergency operations. With regard to the Vandiyur Park incident, he said sniffer dogs were pressed into service that helped in identifying the accused and the weapon used in the offence.

“We are planning to conduct mock drills at regular intervals,” he added.

Another police official said one patrol vehicle with adequate strength was covering the jurisdiction of two police stations round-the-clock. Apart from this, the ‘Vajra’ vehicle with 20 police constables was stationed at the Police Control Room to attend to exigencies.

Also, 25 two-wheeler patrol teams were being deployed in the city. “On information, it is possible to reach a scene of crime in any part of the city within five minutes,” he said.

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