CUTTACK: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday asked police officials to suppress crime with an iron fist to drive fear in criminals.
Addressing the concluding session of the 69th police duty meet here, the chief minister said criminals will not get any protection in the present government.
He called for exemplary steps against organised crime that threatens to destabilise the law and order situation in society. Police should always remain a step ahead of the criminals, he said.
Majhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always given importance to safety and security of women. “However, the rate of conviction in Odisha in cases of crime against women is very disappointing. This was because investigation was not being done in a professional manner. Besides, there was also lack of will power in the previous government to take strong action on crime against women,” he said.
The chief minister said the state government has taken a policy decision to set up exclusive women courts in four districts where such cases will be taken up. The target of police should be to investigate such cases in a professional manner to increase the conviction rate, he said.
Majhi said steps have been initiated by the government to strengthen the police force by filling up about 10,000 vacancies. Besides, to facilitate movement of police, a decision has also been taken to provide 9,000 new motorcycles to police stations. Each police station will be provided with six new motorcycles and `35 crore has been allocated in the 2024-25 supplementary budget in this regard. Besides, 5,000 home guards will also be appointed to assist the police, he added.
Stating that cyber crime has emerged as a major challenge, the chief minister said, the government has decided to strengthen the existing cyber cells. Cyber cells will also be opened in the police stations of all districts, he said.
Majhi also praised the police for solving several complicated cases in the recent past including the murder of a woman at Kandarpur in Cuttack district and murder of another woman in Bonai of Sundargarh district. Such action creates confidence among people in police, he said.
DGP YB Khurania and ADGP (Crime Branch) Binaytosh Mishra also spoke.