The brazen shooting and loot attempt at the bustling Station Square in the prime hours of Saturday evening has served a stern warning to the denizens of the Capital city. Do not venture out with your family in the evening or the day for that matter as criminals are having a free run.
The Commissionerate Police seems to have collapsed, with robbery, snatching and loot becoming everyday affair. While Saturday’s incident has laid bare the failure of the police in protecting the citizens from crime even in the busiest thoroughfares, the ineptitude has raised a stink as the miscreants are still at large. Such is the situation that not even the police are safe from the attacks of the criminals.
Interestingly, far from being embarrassed or even concerned, the Commissionerate Police is tom-tomming identification of the culprits as its achievement without laying hands on them even after 24 hours of the incident.
Though the City Police mobilised two special squads to nab the criminals, no significant breakthrough has been achieved.
With description from Debabrat Dhir, the builder who was attacked, and the havildar Sukhlal Murmu, three persons have been identified. Two others are detained and being quizzed.
The law and order situation in the Capital has plunged to the depths over the recent months as an absolute lack of fear for police has not only emboldened the criminals but also has given rise to a dangerous trend of students taking to crimes like snatching.
In search of quick bucks, students and youngsters have gone on the rampage, robbing people on the streets, with women being the major victims. Only last week, two engineering college students were arrested for a spate of robberies in the city.
If that is not enough, murder cases have posted an alarming rise. On February 18, a retired banker Balaram Sahu was killed in cold blood in his Kalinga Vihar
house. A month into the incident, the City Police has not been able to make any headway.
The dismal performance of the Commissionerate Police does not end here. In the last three months, its intelligence wing has been caught napping at least on two occasions.
On December 19 morning, a farmers’ organisation members gave the cops a slip during the wee hours and showed up at Naveen Niwas which is a restricted zone.
Last month, the CPM activists breached the prohibitory orders and marched near the State Assembly taking advantage of a clueless Commissionerate Police.