DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand government has transferred the powers of all sectors related to tourism from the revenue police to the civil police.
Under the revenue police system, revenue officials double as policemen. Following outrage over the killing of 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari allegedly by her employer Pulkit Arya, the son of a former BJP minister, the focus shifted to the state’s unique policing system. It is the only state where patwari and kanungo form the first line of crime investigation, a legacy of the colonial era.
Uttarakhand has an average of one police station for 65,000 people. The revenue police cover over half the area in 11 of Uttarakhand’s 13 districts. Ankita’s parents alleged that the case had weakened as the patwari they contacted initially didn’t act quickly enough. As a result, the accused was able to destroy evidence. The state government had suspended the patwari and launched a probe.
The government said it has gathered information from all districts about new police stations and posts which are to be opened in revenue areas. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in his interaction with the media cited the law and order situation across all districts, saying it was necessary to transfer such powers from the revenue police to the civil police.
Hours after the government decision, Chief Secretary SS Sandhu held a meeting on Thursday through videoconferencing with district magistrates and superintendents of police about the new order. He said the new order should be implemented on priority.
So far nearly half of the state has been under the revenue police. Growing tourism has led to a phenomenal rise in the number of hotels, homestays and resorts. Criminal activities too have gone up, police said.
Sandhu has asked the Director General of Police Ashok Kumar to fix the category of heinous crimes. He has also asked for an immediate investigation into all such crimes by the civil police by registration of FIRs.