Bihar cops work through New Year’s eve for upcoming crime review meeting

Chief minister Nitish Kumar will hold one-to-one discussions with police officers on various issues ranging from crime control to left-wing extremism, women’s safety, economic offences and bootlegging at the Samwad Conference Hall in Patna on January 3.

Senior police officers in Bihar have called off their New Year celebrations to update records and prepare powerpoint presentations for chief minister Nitish Kumar’s annual crime review meeting, slated for January 3.

Law and order has been the top priority for Nitish Kumar, who is serving his fifth term as the state premier.. (HT File)

The chief minister will hold one-to-one discussions with police officers on various issues ranging from crime control to left-wing extremism, women’s safety, economic offences and bootlegging at the Samwad Conference Hall from 11 am that day. Law and order has been the top priority for Kumar, who is serving his fifth term as the state premier.

Crime records suggest that while law and order has improved drastically over the last two decades, a lot still need to be done to make Bihar an ideal investment and tourist destination.

The police headquarters at Old Secretariat remained abuzz with activity on Sunday, otherwise an official holiday across government offices, as both senior and lower-rung officers updated their files with missionary zeal. HT visited the police headquarters for a reality check, only to find everybody from additional director general (CID) Vinay Kumar to inspector generals and deputy inspector generals going through their documents to ensure that nothing was amiss.

Vinay Kumar said all the officers had come to office on their own free will. “There was no directive to work on New Year Eve,” he said. “But, as responsible police officers, it is our duty to update the chief minister on everything related to the police department for better planning and implementation in the future.”

Another senior officer said the chief minister was intent on making Bihar one of the safest states in the country. Participants of the upcoming meeting will try to identify various criminal activities being undertaken in the state, and try to curb them through punitive means.