Murders, robberies on the rise
From Tripti Nath and Rajmeet Singh
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA: Two daring robberies within a month gives only a fractured view of the deteriorating law and order situation in this satellite town, which until a few years ago, boasted of peaceful environs. But the things have been changing fast.

The policemen no more move in rickety jeeps. They carry walkie-talkie sets and wield sten guns and AK-47s. They have motor cycles and Gypsies attached to police control room. But still they take longer than required to respond to distress calls from public.

Thefts, burglaries and snatching incidents have been gradually going up. A majority of these cases remain unsolved, instilling in general populace a feeling that the police has not been doing anything to protect life and property of residents of the township.

To find out both sides of this story, The Tribune undertook an extensive exercise to analyse law and order in Panchkula. This, in fact, reflects the situation prevailing in most of the major towns of northern region.

Beginning on Monday we will carry for the next six days reports based on this extensive survey.

Though the concept of "beat constable" has been given a go by, the eagle-eyed, baton-wielding men in khaki have lost hold on their territories. Their conspicuous absence in the areas entrusted to them have compelled residents of Panchkula to write them off. Twentysix burglaries and two robberies reported from the district in the past eight months might be cold statistics for the crime record bureau but it speaks volumes of the deteriorating law and order situation.

Neither the city nor the district has "beat constables". Instead, most sectors have a team of policemen headed by an ASI and two constables. This claim of the police, however, is contested by a majority of the residents.

Each time criminals strike and disappear, the inaction of the policemen on patrol is questioned by the public but never satisfactorily answered by men in uniform.

In fact what happened after the latest incident of robbery in Sector 21 was more disturbing. Instead of acting on the information given by the chowkidar, the policemen got on to a wrong track and lost in the process, both vital clues and time in apprehending the robbers.

A resident of Sector 21 says, "I see a hawaldar and two constables moving around in my sector only after a mishap. I saw many of them after Sunday's robbery. They are duty bound to move on their own and report any mishap to the SHO. Usually, they don't offer any help unless a report is lodged with them."

Mr Kishan Nanha, president of the City Congress Committee, says, "I have been living in Sector 8 for the past six months but I never find a policeman on patrol duty."

Mr M.L. Sharma, president of the Residents Welfare Association of Sector 2, finds police patrolling in his sector negligible.

The police, however, has a ready explanation. The Superintendent of Police, Mr Alok Mittal, says, "For a district touching a population of four lakh, we have only 800 policemen from the rank of a constable to an inspector. Our force is catering to the entire Panchkula district, including Pinjore, Kalka, Ramgarh, Barwala, Raipur Rani, Chandimandir and Morni besides 260 villages and a few colonies."

He says, "We are not only understaffed but are also asked to discharge other duties, including traffic duties, movement of VVIPs and security arrangements. The number of policemen on patrol in each sector varies."

One such ASI looking after two sectors admits that due to multiplicity of duties, he is not able to keep a round-the-clock vigil on the area assigned to him. "We are instructed to watch the movement of strangers in our area and send their particulars for verification in a strangers roll "parcha ajnabi" to the police station concerned. The verification depends on the promptness of the respondent police station."

The SP is of the view that more staff needs to be sanctioned for the force. "At present, the posted strength is equal to the sanctioned strength," he adds.

Residents are not convinced with implausible explanations of the police and dismiss the police version of a drop in the crime rate as "statistical jugglery."

Sure enough, the security of the common man cannot be allowed to hinge on handicaps as procedural delays and low strength. As a resident remarked," Instead of asserting itself, the police needs to introspect."

— To be concluded