BHUBANESWAR: After a gap of about seven years, Odisha Police has resumed district inspection by senior officers by assigning 17 police districts to 15 officers in the rank of ADGs and IGs.
The officers tasked with the inspection duty include Crime Branch DG Vinaytosh Mishra (Balasore and Bhadrak), ADG Anti-Naxal Operations Sanjeeb Panda (Koraput and Rayagada), ADG Railways and Coastal Security Arun Bothra (Angul), ADG Law and Order Sanjay Kumar (Sambalpur), ADG SAP Rajesh Kumar (Nayagarh), ADG HRPC Yatindra Koyal (Kalahandi), IG Training BPSPA Anup Kumar Sahoo (Puri) and IG STF Sarthak Sarangi (Kendrapara).
However, no senior officer has been assigned the inspection task of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack UPDs which come under the jurisdiction of Commissionerate Police.
The police headquarters has also not assigned any senior officer for annual inspection of Ganjam and Berhampur police districts which have witnessed an alarming rise in violent crimes in recent months.
The exercise was last carried out in the state in 2019. The deteriorating law and order situation which has given the Odisha government a challenging time appears to have prompted resumption of the exercise. While day-to-day supervision of police districts is carried out by range DIGs/IGs, the annual inspection of a police district will be done by a designated senior officer who would assess crime scenario, staff efficiency, infrastructure and custodial conditions to ensure operational accountability and improve public safety.
According to the State Police Headquarters, 15 senior officers in the ranks of DGP, ADG and IG have been tasked to inspect 17 police districts. The senior officers will also evaluate capability of district forces to handle law and order duties on a regular basis, LWE situation, major crimes, case clearance rates, pendency of investigations and the handling of complaints.
The exercise is likely to start around August. “Usually, the inspection is held after the monsoon is over. Currently, all the officers are busy with Rath Yatra preparations. This year, the exercise is likely to be held after the end of rainy season,” said a senior police officer. The inspection report of each district will then be submitted to the DGP.
A retired IPS officer said DGPs too take part in the annual inspection of the districts but current DGP YB Khurania’s name has not been included possibly as he will retire in August. In fact, Vinaytosh Mishra will retire too later in the year. “It would be interesting to watch if the order remains only on paper or gets executed with effectiveness,” said the retired officer.
Meanwhile, the BJD alleged that supervision charge of 17 districts given to senior police officers shows that everything is not satisfactory. BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said the state government should take urgent steps to bring a change to ensure people that it is in charge.
Earlier, former minister Ranendra Pratap Swain said the BJP government has failed to fulfil its promises and in contrast taken the state backwards in the last two years. State BJP president Manmohan Samal hit back at Swain saying all answers will be given on June 12.
