Cuttack: Responding to allegations from several quarters on the forcible collection of ‘chanda’ from people and vehicle drivers by some anti-socials obstructing the National Highways and State Highways and demanding arbitrary money from the residents of the locality during festive occasions, the Odisha Police has decided to crack the whip on them.
In a letter to all District Superintendents and Deputy Commissioners of Police on Saturday, Director General of Police (DGP), R.P. Sharma has asked them to direct the Inspectors-In-Charge (IICs) to conduct patrolling on National Highways, State Highways, bus stands, bus stops and other places with adequate force at regular intervals to ensure that the people and the vehicles are not detained and the drivers are not subjected to intimidation, harassment, physical assault and abuse by the hooligans.
“The Superintendents of Police and the Deputy Commissioners of Police shall make use of community policing and ask the beat officers to collect information about forcible ‘chanda’ collection from the residents within their respective jurisdictions,” the letter stated.
This apart, the local police should encourage the shopkeepers, traders and transporters to report instances of forcible ‘chanda’ collection without fear and deal strictly with the anti-socials collecting money in the name of puja committees. They should also collect information from the senior citizens and engage the volunteers and the members of the puja committees to collect information from them in a clandestine manner. If such cases are detected, stringent action must be taken against the culprits under Sections 384, 386, 387, 392, 394 and 395 of the IPC.
The IICs should prepare a list of habitual chanda collectors and apply preventive sections of law to curb their activities.
The local police should take the bus and truck owners and the office-bearers of their associations into confidence who will provide the names of the anti-socials and their activities. Necessary liaison may be made with the office-bearers to get the real time, quick and actionable intelligence about the illegal activities related to forcible chanda collection.
In spite of this advisory, if such crime is detected by any senior officer in the district, the concerned SP and DSP should recommend disciplinary action against the anti-social elements, the DGP maintained.
