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The Government has ensured the continuity of peace in the Jangalmahal and the Hill Areas in Darjeeling. Different developmental works have also been undertaken and completed within Jangalmahal and Hill Areas during the period 2013-14.

Violence is a thing of the past in the Jangalmahals. The entire Government machinery is busy developing physical infrastructure, augmenting health facilities, providing employment, facilitating skill development, enhancing education opportunities and undertaking several social security measures within Jangalmahal area.

Among notable welfare measures, all tribal families in the Jangalmahals are being provided rice at Rs. 2 per kilogram and huge number of tribal girls has been provided bicycles. Jangal Mahal Cup- 2013 was organized In the districts of Purulia, Paschim Medinipur, Bankura Birbhum and Jhargram Police District, with the participation of 1708 Football teams, 42 kabaddi teams, 3316 Archery teams and 926 ‘Chhow’ artistes.

In response to the Government’s policy, the total number of former LWEs who have surrendered till date is 43, including the surrender of 23 (twenty three) LWEs with lethal weapons. 32 of them have already been absorbed as Home Guards. Recruitment of nearly 10,000 other local youth as Junior Constables, National Volunteer Force or Home Guard has also been completed followed with training.

Modernization of the State Police Force is one of the highest priorities of this Government. Sophisticated equipments, arms, ammunitions and vehicles are being procured every year to bolster the existing facilities available with the State Police.

In 2013-14, Rs. 13, 87, 66, 724 was spent for purchase of the following vehicles:

1. West Bengal Police – 111 vehicles (including ambulances and troop carrier vans) and 58 motor-cycles.

2. Kolkata Police – 72 vehicles and 100 motor-cycles.In 2013-14, equipments worth Rs. 5.25 crores were procured for West Bengal Police and Rs. 2.64 crores for Kolkata Police.

In order to address the problem of acute shortage of manpower, emphasis has been given on filling up of existing vacancies in 40,000 regular posts and 1,30,000 posts of Civic Police Volunteers (sanctioned in the year 2013). 1,19,916 volunteers have been enrolled so far. The remaining enrolment will be made during this Financial Year.

Special Recruitment Initiative has taken by the Home Department for Jangalmahal Area. 5000 Junior Constables were recruited in the three LWE districts. 500 more recruitment proposed in Birbhum district. 700 Constables (including women) recruited from ST candidates belonging to the LWE districts. 4027 NVF and 1183Home Guards recruited.

For West Bengal Police, 7(seven) new Police Stations have been created in 2013-14, namely Madhyamgram, Duttapukur and Sashan Police Stations in North 24 Parganas, Chatterjeehaat and A.J.C. Bose Botanic Garden Police Stations under Howrah Police Commissionerate, Pukuria Police Station in Malda District and Nadhanghat Police Station in Burdwan district. All the Police Stations have been made functional.

In addition, 2 out-posts at Bakreswardham in Birbhum and Belur Math under Howrah Police Commissionerate have also been established in 2013-14.

For Kolkata Police, proposal for creation of 8 new Police Stations is underway in added areas like (i) Sarsuna P.S. (Bifurcating Thakurpukur P.S.), (ii) Anandapur P.S. (Bifurcating Tiljala P.S.), (iii) Panchasayar P.S. (Bifurcating Purba Jadavpur P.S.), (iv) South Behala P.S. (Bifurcating Behala P.S.), (v) Barisha P.S. (Bifurcating Haridevpur P.S.), (vi) Golf Green P.S. (Bifurcating Jadavpur P.S.), (vii) Baghajatin P.S. (Bifurcating Patuli P.S.) & (viii) Rajdanga P.S. (Bifurcating Kasba P.S.).

To address the problem of crime against women, our Government has decided to set up 65 Women Police Stations in a phased manner. 10 women police stations were set up in 2011-12. In the year 2013-14, 10 (ten) more such Police Stations- at Suri, Burdwan, Serampore, English Bazar, Diamond Harbour, Darjeeling, Barrackpore, Medinipur, Purulia and Bankura have been set up and have started functioning

20 (out of the remaining 45) are proposed to be established in the next two phases shortly.

In all, 48 new Police Stations have been created by this Government over the last three years (2011-2014), compared to only 3 new Police Stations created during the preceding three years, i.e. 2008 to 2011, by the previous Government.

During the year 2013, the rate of conviction in respect of all Indian Penal Code (IPC) crimes has increased by 58.6% over the previous year. There has been a decrease of 3.1% in cases reported for Crime Against Women (CAW) under the West Bengal Police Jurisdiction In the year 2013. 23,818 incidents of crime against women were reported (directly recorded at police stations) in 2013 as against 24,590 cases reported in 2012. Crime under major crime heads- dacoity, robbery, burglary and theft, has also decreased by 3.5% in comparison to 2012. There has been a noted reduction of crime under the heads dacoity and robbery. In the year 2013, 761 cases of dacoity and murder were reported as against 1043 cases reported in the year 2012, thus resulting in a decrease of 27% of crimes under these two major heads.

Achievements in controlling crime against women under the jurisdiction of West Bengal Police are quite significant and are mentioned below:-

Cases reported in 2012

Rape : 1978, Dowry Death : 574, Sexual Harassment : 179, Cruelty by Husband and his Relatives : 19000 (TOTAL : 21731)

Cases reported in 2013

Rape : 1644, Dowry Death : 468, Sexual Harassment : 165, Cruelty by Husband and his Relatives : 17322 (TOTAL : 19599)

Percentage decrease over 2012

Rape : -16.9%, Dowry Death : -18.5%, Sexual Harassment : -7.8%, Cruelty by Husband and his Relatives : -8.8% (TOTAL : -9.8%)

Control of trafficking of women and children has also been quite significant. During 2013, the number of cases registered was 597 (as against 740 in 2012) and 301 persons were arrested and 214 victims were rescued.

5 (five) Police Commissionerates, which were set up by this Government at Howrah, Asansol-Durgapur, Barrackpore, Bidhannagar and Siliguri, have been made functional. This has ensured better traffic management, more intensive control of crime, improved response time of police in various law and order problems; better police-public relationship and intensifying of the patrolling system of city police.

19 Human Rights Courts in 19 districts have been established along with 8 CBI Courts and 46 Courts for Women. 88 Fast Track Courts are also functional. It is worthy to mention here that financial assistance of the Central Govt. for running Fast Track Courts has been stopped from 01.04.2011. Thereafter the Fast Track Courts are being run with State Fund.

There have also been quite a few instances of early conviction with regard to rape cases as the following examples would suggest:-

(a) In one case in Bamangola, Malda, conviction was made within 24 days of recording of the crime;

(B) In four cases In Dakshin Dinajpur district, conviction was made within 9 months (two cases), 1 year (one case) and 1 year & 6 months (one case) of recording of the crimes;

(c) In Uttar Dinajpur, in two cases conviction was made within 1 year of recording of the crimes.

The State Police has taken several steps to ensure speedy adjudication of cases. During the year 2013-14, a total number of 5178 cases under the jurisdiction of West Bengal Police were disposed through Lok-Adalats with realization of fine of Rs. 13.58 lakh. Also, a total number of 164 cases were disposed through plea-bargaining course, as against 66 in the previous year, with conviction and imposition of fine to the tune of Rs. 85,600/-.

Coastal Security has been given top priority. In the first phase, 6 (six) Coastal Police Stations at Fraserganj, Maipith and Sunderban in South 24 Parganas, Hemnagar in North 24 Parganas and Digha Mohana and Talpatighat in Purba medinipore districts have been made operational. In the second phase, 8(eight) new Coastal Police Stations at Junput, Mandarmoni and Nayachar under Purba medinipur district and Diamond harbor, harwood Point, Gangasagar, Gobardhanpur and Jharkhali under South 24 Parganas district are proposed to be set up under the Coastal Security Scheme. Posts for 47 Technical Staff were sanctioned on contract basis for Coastal Security during the year 2013-14, out of which 16 have been given appointment. Remaining vacancies will be filled up shortly.

Construction of buildings for two new Coastal Police Stations at Maipith and Talpatighat is in progress.

Further, proposal for creation of specialized Marine Police Battalion in the pattern of India Reserve Battalion is under consideration.

The State Police has been quite pro-active in seizure of illegal arms and illicit distilled liquor. A total of 4620 illegal arms, 10345 rounds of ammunition, 19313 nos. of bombs, 129 pieces of detonators and 692 Gelatin Sticks were seized since April, 2013.

1523 new posts were created in Kolkata Police during 2013-14. Recruitment against 3496 posts in different ranks was completed in 2013 under Kolkata Police. Strength of the Women Police force in Kolkata Police has been increased with recruitment of 250 Women Constables. Training has also been completed during 2013-14. 200 LIG Flats were purchased for accommodation of Subordinate Police Officers/ Constables in New Town.

Night Policing in the city has been intensified to put check on road accidents and night crime- specially crime against women. Night checking in more than 150 points in the city has been introduced under supervision of Senior Officers. This has resulted in a significant improvement in quality of policing in the city, resulting in improved traffic discipline and sharp reduction in night crime. During last six months, additional 2.5 lakh man-hours have been used for night policing from existing resources.

Due to strict enforcement of traffic rules and effective night policing in the city, the number of fatal accidents has reduced. Even after inclusion of 135 Sq. km area within Kolkata Police jurisdiction in September, 2011, there has been a downward trend in the number of fatal road accidents.

Fatal Accident

2009 : Case (Original Area : 399, Added Area : -----, Total : 399), Victim (Original Area : 417, Added Area : -----, Total : 417)

2010 : Case (Original Area : 341, Added Area : -----, Total : 341), Victim (Original Area : 354, Added Area : -----, Total : 354)

2011 : Case (Original Area : 358, Added Area : 38 [Sept to Dec], Total : 396), Victim (Original Area : 375, Added Area : 43 [Sept to Dec], Total : 418)

2012 : Case (Original Area : 340, Added Area : 131, Total : 471), Victim (Original Area : 362, Added Area : 136, Total : 498)

2013 : Case (Original Area : 320, Added Area : 100, Total : 420), Victim (Original Area : 333, Added Area : 104, Total : 437)

Weather-friendly uniforms like Collar Coolers, Anklets, Braces, Shoes and Jackets have been introduced in the Traffic Department. Special drive has been given against errant taxis, auto-rickshaws & slow moving vehicles. Lok Adalats for resolving old pending cases have been set up. Traffic Control Room has been modernized.

Incidents of Murder, Dacoity, Robbery, Burglary cases are much less in the city of Kolkata in comparison to other metropolitan cities as can be seen below:

Murder : Kolkata – 85, Delhi – 408, Mumbai – 215, Chennai – 180, Bangalore – 266 Dacoity : Kolkata – 08, Delhi – 23, Mumbai – 29, Chennai – 02, Bangalore – 37 Robbery : Kolkata – 44, Delhi – 522, Mumbai – 1131, Chennai – 85, Bangalore – 670, Burglary : Kolkata – 96, Delhi – 1483, Mumbai – 2500, Chennai – 546, Bangalore – 1240

Incidents of rape cases are also less in comparison to that of other metropolitan cities as is evident from ‘Crime of India’ for the year 2012.

Kolkata – 68, Delhi – 585, Mumbai – 232, Chennai – 94, Bangalore – 90

An independent Special Juvenile Police Unit was set up in January 2014 to implement the laws and acts relating to children like Child Labour Act, Child Marriage Restraint Act and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act etc.

More than 500 CCTV cameras have been installed at important road crossings for round the clock surveillance in the city under “Intelligence Surveillance System (ISS)” including a project at Alipore styled “Smart Video Surveillance System”. Another project named “City Watch” was also started by introducing motorcycle patrolling in lanes/ bye-lanes of the city. 100 motor cycles have been provided to the police stations for this purpose.

Kolkata Police organized a function marking the closing ceremony of the 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda at Red Road for the first time on 10.01.2014.

An ‘Unmanned Aerial Vehicle’ (UAV) has been procured and deployed at Kolkata Police for counter insurgency, disaster management, crowd control, Tracking Suspected Vehicles etc.

An initiative has been taken to establish a full-fledged training academy for Kolkata Police at Howrah near Dumurjola. Out of 54.55 acres of land allotted by HIT, possession for 25.83 acres has already been handed over to Kolkata Police. Rs. 7.2 Crore has also been released by Kolkata Police Housing & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited.

STF Police Station, having jurisdiction throughout the Kolkata Police area, has been set up at Lalbazar on 08.04.2013 for the purpose of registration and investigation of offences relating to terrorist activities, narcotic crimes, illegal deals in firearms, ammunitions, explosives, ransom cases etc.

Since April 2013, the success of STF is as follows:

(i) 22 racketeers of fake INC have been booked with the recovery of Rs. 51,21,400/- found to be counterfeit notes. The cases are pending for trial.

(ii) 3 cases of Maoist activities (by CPI- Maoist) have been initiated and 6 accused persons have been arrested with recovery of three country-made firearms and 6 rounds of live cartridges and several Maoist Literatures.

(iii) One terrorist, who belonged to Indian Mujahiddin, has also been arrested with recovery of fake INC to tune of Rs. 1,90,000/-, explosive, three detonators .One case has been initiated and the case is pending for trial.

Video Conferencing System has been introduced at all Police Stations, Divisional Offices and the Police HQs of Kolkata Police. Kolkata Police is also going to launch ‘Sukanya’ - a Project to impart basic self defence training to students of Class-VIII - XII of the Girls’ Schools.

In 2014-15, Kolkata Police proposes to raise the Kolkata Police Disaster Management Force (KPDMF), Tourist Police Force and City Police Volunteer Force. Creation of Community Police Wing, recruitment of 156 S.I., 169 Sergeants, 21 Lady S.I., 2600 Const., 307 Lady Constable and Police Drivers against existing vacancies is also proposed.

During 2014-15, Kolkata Police also has proposals for (i) Maintenance of profiles of inter-state criminal gangs, (ii) Preparation of central data base for all ISPs for preventing cyber crimes, (iii) Installation of mega lenses CCTV camera in unmanned ATM counters, outer portions of big hotel establishments, guest houses etc. (iv) Installation of integrated security management system, (v) Digitization of indexing system at Special Branch, (vi) Rationalization and streamlining of movement of slow moving vehicles by Traffic Department & (vii) Undertaking a Road Safety Audit by Traffic Department.

The Government has introduced a very unique Housing Scheme called “PRATYASHA” for providing ownership flats to the members of the West Bengal Police and Kolkata Police, belonging to the rank of Constables upto Inspectors. Under this scheme, the Government will provide the land free of cost and it is expected that around 10,000 flats will be constructed during the next three-year period.

Effective steps are being taken to set up schools under PPP model for the children of the Police personnel of the State.

Considering the need for housing, medical and other facilities to the majority of the police personnel as well as their family members, from Sub Inspectors downwards, it has been decided as a welfare measure to consider posting of willing police personnel of those ranks to either their home districts or nearby districts after 15 years of service.

This Government has been encouraging the Group Medical Insurance Policy for the members of the West Bengal Police, including their family members. The scheme is in operation on voluntary enrolment basis. The Policy, initially started with 19,735 members, now has 57,778 members. The sum insured within this policy has been increased from Rs. 50,000 to Rs.1,50,000 with a buffer of Rs.2,00,000 for five critical diseases. This policy also covers a personal accident benefit of Rs.6,00,000 (on duty) and of Rs.3,00,000 (off-duty) for the principal members.

The Foreigners Branch of the Home Department processed 600 cases for extension of visa to foreigners other than SAARC countries and nearly 2158 cases for those from SAARC countries during the year 2013-14. 144 certificates pertaining to ’No obligation to Return to India’ from USA and 40 cases of certificates relating to ’No obligation to Return to India’ for Tibetan Refugees were issued. 5691 cases of Deportation/ Repatriation of Bangladeshi nationals and 14 cases for other nationals were made on the Court’s order and after Verification of nationality.

The Border Area Development Programme (BADP) is being successfully implemented within the State. Development schemes like improvement of roads, construction of additional class-rooms for educational institutions, construction of flood relief centres, creation of non-conventional energy sources, providing drinking arrangement, creating drainage systems, culverts and bridges execution of security-related schemes for Border Guarding Forces are being implemented in 9 (nine) districts comprising 65 Blocks and 4400 villages of this State. A new programme on “Training on Skill Development and Capacity Building under BADP” has been started in collaboration with the Department of Technical Education & Training.