Stress on modernising police force
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Dec 1 — The three-day 31st All India Police Science Congress opened here today with a call for upgrading and modernising the police for meeting cyber crimes, terrorism and cross-border terrorism.

The Congress laid emphasis on carrying out major reformation in the police by way of equipping it with latest weapons and communication system and on improving the image of the force to make it people friendly. The need for breaking the nexus between criminals and the politicians, bureaucrats and the police was emphasised upon because the agencies across the border were making determined efforts to destabilise peace in India.

Inaugurating the congress Governor G.C. Saxena, called for immediate measures for modernisation of the police force to meet new challenges posed by ethnic conflicts, communalism, supported by trans-border agencies, new dimensions in subversive violence and insurgency. He said the venue and the time of the congress were appropriate because Jammu and Kashmir continued to be tormented by the Pakistan-sponsored proxy war.

He and others called for major amendments to the Police Act of 1861, which had become outdated, so that basic reforms in the police functioning could be assured. He agreed with Mr A.A. Ali, former Special Secretary, Union Ministry of Home Affairs, who delivered the keynote address, that failure of the successive governments in implementing the recommendations of the police commissions had prevented the police from meeting new challenges. He said that there was a need for reshaping the police force according to the demands of the society and this warranted change in the mode of investigations and handling of law and order.

He said that politicisation of the police had tarnished the image of the force and the nexus between the police and the politicians had to be broken. Major reforms had become the need of the hour so that the police, with a new face, could handle ethnic conflicts, insurgency and communalism. The Governor wanted concrete steps for ending the menace of casteism, corruption, poverty, mafia dons and narco terrorism.

Mr Saxena said that there was paucity of the police force not only in Jammu and Kashmir but in other states and in view of the resource crunch it had become imperative to ensure optimum utilisation of man power, increase the mobility of the police, improve the quality of investigation and conviction. He said there was a need to pay emphasis on educational qualification and behaviour of the recruits. He suggested that an apex body, comprising prominent public men, judges and senior police officers, be constituted in every state to look into the complaints against the police. This would check incidence of excesses and injustice.

The Governor made it clear that the police or for that matter any other security agency have to take care of human rights. He referred to the human rights issue in Jammu and Kashmir and said that the militants were the worst abusers of human rights. He said it was a natural thing that during operations against the militants security agencies could be held guilty of excesses but such cases had been rare and the state had constituted a Human Rights Commission to look into complaints of this nature.

In his keynote address Mr A.A. Ali, former Special Secretary Ministry of Home Affairs, expressed dismay that recommendations of the police commissions had not been implemented as a result of which much needed reforms had been delayed. He said it was unfortunate that the police has been "misused" by the party in power. He called for reforms in the police to make the force people friendly and enable it to meet new challenges.

Mr B.B. Nanda, Director General, Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&O), said that law and problem in the rural areas of India would assume new dimensions in the next century which called for selfpolicing and the right for having private defence. He said in spite of good work having been done by the police its image and professionalism had registered a downhill journey. He suggested that criminal laws be reviewed and check multiplicity of laws to make laws enforced.

Mr Nanda said that the congress had to make suggestions so that the police force in the country was fully revamped and reformed to tackle espionage activities, cyber crimes and insurgency.

The Director-General, Police, Mr Gurbachan Jagat, the Inspector-General, Crimes and Railways, Mr Kuldeep Khuda, welcomed the delegates to the conference and hoped that the Congress would come up with specific proposals for the reformation of the police.

The delegates, including retired senior police officers and other experts, would discuss in detail the main issue of police reforms to meet the challenges during 21st century. Five technical sessions would be held during the three days where experts like Mr K.P.S. Gill, former Director-General, Punjab Police, Mr Shymal Dutta, Director, Intelligence Bureau, Dr S. Subramaniam, Director-General, CRPF (retd), Mr T.R. Kakkar, Special Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Mr Kamal Kumar, Director, Institute of Criminology, Dr R.K. Tewari, Chief Forensic Scientist, BPR&D are participating. As many as 18 selected papers will lay the basis for the discussion in the technical sessions.

The congress is expected to submit a detailed report to the Union Home Ministry with the suggestion that the recommendations of the congress be examined and implemented as early as possible to prepare the police for meeting new challenges in the future.

Militants gun down father, son

JAMMU, Dec 1 (PTI) — Militants shot dead a man and his son while three security jawans had been injured in the Surankote area of Poonch district in Jammu division since yesterday, official sources said here today.

Militants broke into the house of Faquir Hussain Shah last night and fired indiscriminately killing him and his son Noor Jamal Shah. The militants managed to escape.

In another incident, three Army Jawans were injured when militants blew up their vehicle with an improvised explosive device (IED) in the Surankote area yesterday.

The soldiers were rushed to hospital.

Reports from Poonch said a villager was injured in a landmine blast at Baghial Dhara near the Line of Control on Monday evening.

Meanwhile, the Army recovered arms and ammunition from the sandy bed of Basantar river in the Samba area of Jammu during the period.

The recoveries included two boxes containing 750 rounds of ammunition, two IEDs, one anti-tank mine, several detonators, and delay switches of time bombs and one wireless set.