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Centre wants Chandigarh Police to have separate investigation wing
The Union ministry of home affairs has directed Chandigarh Police to create a separate investigation wing. The move is part of the long delayed police reforms in
The Union ministry of home affairs has directed Chandigarh Police to create a separate investigation wing. The move is part of the long delayed police reforms in the city and also aims to speed up tardy investigations.
The ministry has asked the department to submit a revised proposal for the creation of new posts within a month. The new posts would include separate posts for investigation officers.
Rejecting the UT police proposal for creation of 1,355 posts in the meeting held with the department officials on August 9, the MHA observed: “Major component of this creation of posts was in the grade of constable (519). Constables are deployed in various services like patrolling, security of high courts and high-end government establishments, traffic management, drivers, investigators, etc.”
Recommending the separation, the MHA also directed the police department to minimise the deployment of manpower in VIP security for Punjab and Haryana governments. The revised proposal to be submitted by the UT police should also incorporate such changes.
A senior UT administration official, privy to the MHA meeting, said: “One of the reasons for the rejection of the UT proposal in its current form was the absence of provision for separate posts for investigation officers and separate investigation wing in the police department.”
Linking approval of creation of new posts for investigation officers with the creation of a separate investigation wing means the UT police department will have to separate law and order function from investigations. In addition to creation of new posts, investigation staff from different units can be brought under a unified command, said the official.
Prakash Singh, former director general of police in Assam and Uttar Pradesh and an expert in internal security said: “The Supreme Court has stated in one of its cases that for cities with population more than 10 lakh, there should be separate law-and-order and investigation wings. Police personnel involved in investigations are too many times sucked into law and order duties, such as VIP security, because of which probe suffers.”
Push for smart policing
For the development of smart policing in the city, the MHA also has asked the UT police to study police personnel requirement on global parameters
“The MHA has suggested that the revised proposal should be based on the study of some model cities of the world. Preferably, the study should be based on surfing on internet,” said the official
UT officials informed the MHA about their innovations and initiatives, including launching of digital investigation app, e-beat system and e-challan system, as part of smart policing
