Guwahati: With the increasing number of encounters involving Assam police personnel since the new BJP led government takes charge in
Dispur, it is assumed that the State police remains no longer the same. Within nearly two months, since Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma becomes
the chief minister, a number of accused criminals face the bullets while trying to flee the police custody and many succumbed to
injuries.
That the new government has adopted the policy of zero tolerance to crimes was conveyed to the ground level police officers by none other
than CM Sarma, in charge of State home portfolio, on Monday during a pathbreaking official meeting. Organized for the first time, a
conference with officers-in-charge (OCs) of all police stations in Assam witnessed a determined home minister who pursued for committed
and best possible services to the public from the police forces. Sarma, while addressing over 315 OCs in the conference, asked the
police to perform their duties without bowing down to political pressure or other inducements while on duty. He also called on the
policemen to adopt healthy lifestyle habits for good health while endeavouring to deliver people friendly services. Issuing directions
to OCs to strictly deal with crimes against women and show zero tolerance, he asked them to file detailed and error-free chargesheets
of all cases precisely rape, molestation, assault etc at the earliest for speedy trial. Sarma insisted on continuous trainings of OCs on
relevant legal matters. Directing them to collect post mortem reports expediently, Sarma added
that steps have to be taken to send samples for testing at forensic labs outside Assam for minimising delay as the only forensic lab in
Guwahati is not sufficient. He ordered the OCs to complete all police verifications for jobs, passports etc within 7 days barring doubtful
cases. He also instructed to ensure receipt of reports by families at the earliest in road accident death cases for hassle free insurance
claims. In presence of State police chief Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, special DGP GP Singh, additional DGP Harmeet Singh and other senior officers,
Sarma announced that the conference of OCs will be held every six months from now onwards. Emphasising on the importance of a better
working environment for the police personnel, he also announced several measures at the workplaces for them.
Assam adopts policy of zero tolerance to crime
