Have Zero Tolerance for Crime against Women, says Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

By: WE Staff | Tuesday, 6 July 2021

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma directed the officers-in-charge (OCs) of all police stations in the state to strictly deal with crimes against women and to have zero tolerance for crime and criminals.

Addressing the first-ever conference with OCs of all police stations in the state on ‘Redefining Policing Standards in Assam,' Himanta Biswa Sarma directed officials to file chargesheets in all rape, molestation, assault, and other cases as soon as possible, as well as murder, arms, and drugs smuggling cases within the next six months.

He advocated for police to adopt a zero-tolerance policy toward crimes and criminals.

“Today, some people told me that, these days people are running away from police and many shooting incidents have taken place, is it becoming a pattern. I told them, yes this should be policing pattern. If a rapist runs away, tried to snatch arms from police, police will have to fire, but not on the chest and the law said that you can shoot at the legs. We want to transform Assam police into one of the best policing organization in the country,” Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

Concerning cattle smuggling, the Assam Chief Minister stated that cow smuggling should be prohibited in the state.

“Cow is our God. Cow gives us milk, dung and we had cultivated with the help cattle before tractors came and it is also continued in many parts. Now people have also involved in cattle smuggling, drugs smuggling. No one should be spared,” Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

He urged the OCs not to be swayed by political pressure or other inducements while carrying out their duties, but to work with the utmost honesty and dedication.

Himanta Biswa Sarma directed the OCs to complete all police verifications for jobs, passports, and other documents within 7 days, barring any doubtful cases, and emphasised the importance of providing the best possible service to the public. He also directed that families in road accident death cases submit reports as soon as possible in order to avoid complications with insurance claims.

He stated that from now on, a conference with OCs will be held every six months to review progress on all of these fronts.

The chief minister announced several measures to facilitate better workplace facilities for police personnel, emphasising the importance of a better working environment for police personnel to perform at their best.“All police stations would receive an amount of Rs 2.50 lakh annually as contingency fund apart from other allocations. Also all OCs will be provided one vehicle for their police stations while motorcycles would be provided for those police stations in difficult and inaccessible areas. Three computers would be provided to all police stations for streamlining FIR filing and other activities. Residential quarter would be built within all police station premises for one OC and 3 Sub-inspectors. One power generator would be provided to each police station,” Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

The Assam Chief Minister emphasised the importance of preparing detailed and error-free chargesheets, stating that the CID will be hired to train OCs in chargesheet preparation. He also stated that capable Public Prosecutors will be hired to ensure the delivery of justice and the punishment of criminals.

He also stated that the state's Health Department will be asked to conduct health checks on police officers every 15 days.

The event was attended by Assam DGP Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, Special DGP GP Singh, ADGP Harmeet Singh, and other senior officers.