SK Hyder’s sensational escape from Cuttack’s SCB Medical College and Hospital (SCB MCH) is a big loss of face for the Odisha government. It is an ignominious statement on the state of affairs in the State police. The facile suspension of a havildar and five constables who escorted the notorious gangster to SCB MCH only shows a sheer lack of accountability at the top and an attempt to wash hands off the case. The police establishment and prison authorities are trying to pass the buck on to each other. Prison, officially, comes under Home Department and not Odisha Police.
Criminals like Hyder – or for that matter his rivals like Tito – do not just operate when they are free. Jails are as good a place as any for them as they can sustain their whole criminal ecosystem from behind the walls. That’s precisely why most police forces have dedicated agencies like Special Task Force (STF) to deal with organized crime and their ring masters.Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik created STF (apart from Economic Offences Wing) under the Crime Branch for the same purpose. But, what is the point of a dedicated wing if it is not keeping track of criminals like Hyder?
The very story of how Hyder managed or was allowed to get a cabin in State’s premier government-run hospital needs thorough investigation besides his frequent visits to Cuttack. The prison administration and SCB management have a lot to explain for the mess the gangster’s escape has left behind.Still, focus must be on the porous police system that let him make away so easily. The SCB MCH has an outpost with over a dozen personnel deployed there. Then there is a full-fledged police station at Mangalabag under whose jurisdiction the hospital comes. Were these two units not mandated to keep an eye on Hyder and his associates who eventually helped him escape?
This brings to the fore an utter lack of criminal intelligence which led to such an embarrassment for State Police. Clearly, no one – neither STF nor Twin City Police - was watching the hardened criminal nor thought it was prudent to keep track of his cronies.
For someone who has spent 16 years in jail, Hyder’s advanced age, sentences he was serving for the crimes he committed, and the illness he carried would not ideally take him far after such a daring escape unless he was sure of a water-tight plan. He must have found the loopholes alluring enough during his frequent trips in last one year and hatch the plan to flee in plain sight.
Further, there is too much adhocism and waste of resources in State Police at the moment. Key wings like Crime Branch and Law and Order are manned by one officer. Same is the case with STF and Central Range. On the other hand, the prison administration has a DG and an IG ranked officer at helm while Police Signal wing, which is non-existent, too has a DG and IG ranked officer to run the show. It is time, the government comes clean.