LUCKNOW: With an intent to make policing smarter and effective, Yogi Adityanath government on Friday evening decided to segregate the system into two units — crime and investigation as one unit and law & order as the other.
By making a decision to this effect, the state government has conceded a two-decade-old demand of the police department. With crime and investigation being separated from routine policing, the cases are expected to be cracked and solved with increased pace and alacrity. One of the largest single police forces in the world, UP has over 2.5 lakh cops taking care of 75 districts. It has 33 armed battalions and other specialised wings/branches.
As per the latest decision, an investigation unit will be set up in each police commissionerate (so far two) and district police stations. This unit will be headed by an inspector crime appointed in each police station. This unit will be given a target to crack at least 40 cases in a year. The in-charge of crime and investigation unit will be appointed for a minimum period of two years.
This investigation unit will handle cases related to financial fraud worth over Rs 50 lakh, cases pertaining to counterfeit currency and those registered under IT Act. It will be handling cases falling under the ambit of Sections 406, 407, 408, 409, 420, 424, 465, 467, 468, 471 and 472 of Indian Penal Code. It will also handle the cases under POCSO Act, sedition, NDPC Act, organised liquor and weapon smuggling.
On the other, to bring about an image makeover of the police force, a lookout has been launched for a consultant who can help give it a more professional and corporate touch to police functioning while dealing with public.
The move is already afoot and Expression of Interest (EOI) has been invited by Integrated Technology Enabled Citizen-Centric Services (ITECCS) of UP police for association with a knowledge partner as part of ‘Uttar Pradesh police change management programme.’
As per the sources, the process to shortlist the most promising prospective partners from over 20 applications received from India and abroad is already on. The scrutiny and the presentations could take around 10 days after which the responsibility would be accorded.