DEHRADUN: Pushkar Singh Dhami, the state’s chief minister, has announced that the revenue police will no longer be in charge of maintaining law and order in the state’s 1,500 villages. The revenue police have been at the centre of a scandal over how they handled the Ankita Bhandari murder case. The government’s decision follows widespread protest over Ankita’s death, during which the revenue police’s shortcomings were exposed.
Relatives of the 19-year-old receptionist allegedly murdered by a BJP leader’s son cremated her on Sunday. Ankita had been missing since September 18, but after much uproar, her abductors and murderers were found and arrested five days later. After their arrest on September 23, the three suspects—Pulkit Arya, Saurabh, and manager Ankit—admitted to their crime. All of this was the consequence of the revenue police’s mistakes, for which the area’s revenue officer was suspended.
Although she had been missing for five days, the police didn’t start looking for her until the girl’s relatives reported her missing and expressed concern for her safety. Even though accusations against the resort owner and other suspects had been made far earlier, it took police five days to act and arrest them. In total, the state has 16793 villages, and more than half of them are concentrated in just four districts: Almora, Chamoli, Garhwal, and Tehri Garhwal.
The revenue patwari police have been in charge of maintaining law and order in these villages since the British rule. However, there are 405 villages with a population of fewer than 10 persons and 1053 settlements that are empty. In order to reduce costs, the British administration established the Patwari police system in 1861. Revenue officers are given the same privileges and responsibilities as police officers.
Only in Uttarakhand have tax collection personnel been given responsibility for maintaining law and order in the state’s hilly regions. The Supreme Court emphasised the necessity for regular police to replace the system in 2010, but nothing came of it. Despite claims, no activity is evident on the ground despite the hilly areas’ residents’ repeated calls for regular policing against this system.
Ironically, no government has expressed a desire to change the framework that controls policing in over half of the state. There is a widespread belief and widespread observation that people frequently do not take revenue policeman seriously. Additionally, the required uniform is not worn by revenue police.