Bhubaneswar: Continuing to fire salvos at Odisha government over various issues, the opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Wednesday claimed that the statewide monitoring and inspection programme launched by the state police showed the law and order situation is not satisfactory.
The fact that the Director General of Police (DGP) has directed 15 senior police officers to supervise 17 districts indicates that the police administration in the State is not functioning properly, the regional party alleged.
In a press statement, BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty claimed that police stations have been functioning like offices of the ruling party, and this situation must change. Illegal extraction of minor minerals (sand, stone chips and morrum), which is continuing unabated across the State under the patronage of the ruling party, has demoralised sincere police officers, he claimed.
In many instances, they are becoming victims of attacks by mafia. On the other hand, police officers acting at the behest of the ruling party are enriching themselves while crossing all limits of human rights violations.
Mohanty alleged that people are witnessing police brutality and inhuman conduct in several cases. The incidents at Barang, Balianta, Kabisuryanagar and today in Bhadrak have shocked the people of the State due to the inhuman behavior of the police, he alleged.
If the DGP’s decision taken today succeeds in bringing the law and order situation under control and puts an end to the use of third-degree methods by the police, the people of Odisha will certainly feel reassured, the BJD leader said.
Claiming that illegal sand extraction is being carried out openly across the State, he alleged that although the DGP and the Chief Minister have repeatedly spoken about taking strong action against it, leaders of the ruling party and the mafias continue to disregard the police system.
The supervision of districts by senior police officers must bring about a change in the State’s law and order situation as well as in police conduct. Otherwise, this will prove to be yet another smokescreen by the Government. Though delayed, the DGP’s decision amounts to an admission that the law and order situation in the State is not satisfactory, said Mohanty.
