CHANDIGARH: The Congress government in Punjab has decided to de-notify changes in the jurisdictions of police stations and subdivisions to put an end to political interference in the functioning of the police.
In 2010, the then SAD-BJP government had started the Halqa in-charge system, in which police stations and subdivisions were aligned with assembly constituencies, source said.
It is alleged that the then sitting MLAs used to interfere in the functioning of the police and had created an atmosphere of ‘fear’ in the state. The erstwhile lawmakers also used the police to settle scores with their political rivals and others who raised a voice against them.
“As the government has promised sweeping police reforms, it has decided to carry out territorial restructuring of police stations and subdivisions to increase functional and operational efficiency,’’ said a senior police official.
In a report sent to the home department, the state police has proposed that of the 120 police subdivisions in the state, 103 not be a part of a single assembly constituency, and 78 police subdivisions be as per revenue subdivisions, said sources.
“Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh will soon have a meeting with senior officials, including DGP Suresh Arora, in this regard, and then the government will de-notify the changes in the jurisdictions in order to end political interference,” said a senior government functionary.
The CM had formed the Mehtab Singh Gill Commission of Inquiry in April to look into false cases during the rule of the SAD-BJP combine, registered allegedly after the jurisdictions of police subdivisions were changed.