E-Paper
Rise in crime cases needs strict monitoring: Pune rural SP Abhinav Deshmukh
Due to fast-growing urbanisation in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, there is a rise in crime cases especially in outskirts of metropolis area, he says
Abhinav Deshmukh, a 2009-batch IPS (Indian Police Service) officer was the superintendent of police, Kolhapur before taking over as SP Pune rural in September this year and has served in Satara and Gadchiroli in the past.
The policemen are at the forefront of the fight against Covi-19. He speaks to HT about the various challenges in Pune rural area amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
There is a severe shortage of staff in the Pune rural police department. What is the current strength?
There are only 2,900 positions; actual working strength is 2,600 as there are 300 vacancies. We have additional strength including home guards; around 790 at present. We have a severe shortage of manpower, that’s true. Many proposals have been sent to the government in this regard. One district sub-head quarter will be created in Baramati. A strength of 300 will be added there. There are new police stations that have been proposed. Overall, 600 new posts will be created. New post creation had stopped due to the current Covid-19 pandemic. We are hopeful that shortly we will get the manpower.
What is the situation of Covid-19 infection and fatality among Pune rural police?
We have 250 patients now and as many as 230 have covered from the Sars-Cov-2 virus which causes the Covid-19 infection and 18 are active cases. We also lost six of our policemen who were infected with the virus. In the past few days, the new cases are quite a few - hardly one or two. In the way of post-Covid19 care, those who have recovered, people who are overweight, cholesterol problem are following routines that include meditation, yoga and physiotherapy. There is a tendency of cardiac arrest due to an increasing tendency of embolism. We are consulting with cardiologists also. Our men are provided with like ecosprin, Vitamin C and zinc tablets and other safety gears.
There are various stretches of highways in the Pune rural police jurisdiction. Any long-term efforts to reduce fatalities?
There is a state-wide policy issue. The Supreme Court is monitoring fatalities in road accidents. Now a target has been set that every state and district has to reduce the mortality by ten per cent. Last year we achieved the target but we should be more focused on reducing mortality than accidents. As the number of vehicles is increasing, there will definitely be more accidents. But the mortality in these accidents is what we should be working to reduce. Four basic methods are subscribed for this: engineering, enforcement, education, and awareness. Based on Kerala’s Jan Maitri programme adopted by the central government and deployed in Maharashtra, five schools are identified where school-level education regarding traffic-rules and awareness is provided.
There are several tourist spots in the jurisdiction, but the mask violation numbers are low in these areas.
Basically, most of the tourist spots are closed. Most of the approach roads to scenic spots were also closed. The tourists are not coming now. Only local people or those having second homes are coming to places like Lonvala. Last week an order was issued by the tourism department that some of the tourist activities have to be restarted. Because of the order, we are also planning to change our strategy, especially in these parts. We do not want to harass tourists as local traders depend on them. We have to maintain a balance. We have held meetings with hotel owners and restaurant owners as the hotels have opened up. We thought it is better to campaign and create awareness. We have the power to fine.
There was a proposal for use of 50% fine for police welfare. What are your observations?
It is just a proposal and not finalised yet. Any fine collected goes into to certain heads of government where they need to be deposited. Police fine goes directly to the government exchequer. Government has to issue an order. It is a policy decision and modalities have to be finalised.
What are your observations in the first 20 days since you took over?
It is a huge district. It has a lot of problems due to industrialisation and urbanisation. Due to fast-growing urbanisation in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, there is a rise in crime cases especially in outskirts of metropolis area. Our crime pattern is mainly Loni Kalbhor, Lonikand, Haveli and MIDC. We have to focus on narcotics and firearms. Especially in areas bordering Ahmednagar, major crime is related to sand mafia; Daund, Indapur, and Bhigwan. There is a definite increase in the trend of body offences post-lockdown. The magnitude of the crime is very high. There are a lot of problems related to urbanisation but the infrastructure is that of a rural district. It is like policing in an urban area but with rural infrastructure. Some of our load went to Pimpri-Chinchwad but there is a major manpower crunch. There is also an increase in cyber-crime cases.