SIT recommends annual firing practice, handbook and job chart for UP cops

The special investigation team (SIT), which investigated the Kanpur ambush case, has recommended annual firing practice for up to inspector rank policemen, handbook for police station management and functioning and job chart to fix accountability of constables to additional director general (ADG) rank officers, said senior police officials’ privy to the SIT report.

They said SIT has made these recommendations to the state government after finding major faults in police training, cops’ lack of knowledge about basic duties, delay in action and absence of clarity on fixing accountability, while investigating the Kanpur ambush case.

One SIT member said faulty police working allowed slain gangster Vikas Dubey to expand his empire gradually in nearly three decades that finally emboldened him and his aides to attack the police team that raided his house in Bikru village of Kanpur on the intervening night of July 2 and 3.

He said the police team had high fire power as compared to Dubey’s gang, but still they could not retaliate when they were attacked as they lacked practice of using weapons like semi-automatic pistols, Insas and AK-47 rifles.

He said the first suggestion is about mandatory annual training and practice of using firearms for lower rung police personnel from constable to inspector rank.

“The SIT has suggested setting up firing ranges at every divisional headquarters and that inspector general (IGs) or deputy inspector general (DIG) of ranges should be responsible to carry out annual training,” he said added,

“At present there are nine firing ranges, mostly at police training centres in the state.”

The SIT member said most of the police personnel, who survived the ambush, had stated during enquiry that their weapon got stuck or they failed to load the firearm when they tried to retaliate.

He said another suggestion was to prepare a handbook for police station management that should contain entire legal provisions, work flow, standard operating procedures for handling each case and situation, maintaining case diary and important circulars issued from time to time. He said this will make the lower rung cops understand their duties and remain aware about measures to be taken while investigating or pursuing any case till the end, including the judicial proceedings.

He said it has been seen in the Bikru case that negligence and lacklustre approach as well as unawareness about their duties helped Dubey carry out his nefarious activities despite being convicted in a murder case and having multiple case registered against him.

He said the suggestion to the state government was to ask the rules and manuals wing of the state police to prepare a handbook about police functioning. The official said the handbook should also be included in the recruitment training process as well.

The SIT member said another suggestion was to prepare a job chart for constable to ADG rank officials to fix accountability in case of any incident.

He said SIT found in the enquiry that every officer tried to pass the buck on to the other in taking action against Dubey and his gang. He said the job chart should have detailed work profile of everybody from top to bottom in the police department.