Law and order takes a beating amid frequent SSP transfers in Ferozepur

Anirudh Gupta

Ferozepur, December 24

It has been like a “musical chair” of sorts for the district police chiefs at Ferozepur — as from tenures ranging from 16 days to maximum of a few months — frequent transfers of SSPs has put the fragile “law and order” situation out of gear in the border district.

As many as 16 SSPs have been transferred within last seven years for one or the other reason. Of the 16 police officials, 10 have been transferred during the last three years only.

Over these years, only one SSP (Pritam Singh) has served at the strategically important district for close to a year, while most of the others were shifted within a few months of their posting for reasons best known to the government.

No time to settle in

It takes at least a few months for an official to understand the pulse of the area and to develop sources. However, the moment an SSP seems to be settling in, he or she gets transferred. —A senior police official

The unwarranted changes in the crucial post has severely affected the law and order situation in the region. Sources said more often than not, these postings have been politically triggered as the ruling dispensation ensures the transfer of an officials if he does not toe its line.

At times, the district police chiefs have also been caught in between the political cross fire due to divergent interests of MLAs in certain cases. More than 4,000 cases related to the NDPS Act and other serious criminal offences have been pending for enquiry in the district.

A senior official said it takes at least a few months for an official to understand the pulse of the area and to cultivate sources, besides identifying the ones with a criminal bent of mind. “However, the moment an SSP seems to be settling in, he or she gets transferred and the steps initiated to check criminal activities get affected, with the situation going back to square one,” the official said.

The frequent transfers are so common that after an official completes three months in office, he starts getting congratulatory messages!

Before SSP Deepak Hillori, who is now on deputation to the Narcotics Control Bureau, Delhi, — Bhupinder Singh, who was actually posted as the Malerkotla SSP, was put on an ad hoc posting here for six months. After Hillori’s exit now, Moga SSP Vivek Sheel Soni has been given additional charge of Ferozepur.

As per the statuary norms, only an IPS officer can be posted here as an SSP. However, on most of the occasions during the last two regimes, a PPS official remained at the helm of affairs.

Suraj Mehta, district president of NGO Anti-Crime Anti-Narcotics, said the people of the border district were concerned due to the frequent transfers of the SSPs.