I found that about 200 jawans and officers are absconding. There is no information about many of them for over a year, and they are drawing salaries, says Rajesh Kumar
The crime graph zigzagging upwards in Bihar may have more than a little to do with some 200 policemen in state capital Patna missing in action for over a year and 300 others twiddling their metaphorical thumbs.
The city police's workshirking ethic was exposed during a surprise inspection of the Police Lines by range DIG Rajesh Kumar on Thursday. "During the review and inspection, I found that about 200 jawans and officers are absconding. There is no information about several of them for over a year, and they are drawing salaries without doing work," Kumar said.
Kumar ordered action against the "missing" cops by freezing their salaries immediately. The Bihar police will issue notices to them and they will have to report within two days to avoid further action.
During the inspection, which lasted for around five hours, around 300 jawans were found to be "hiding" to evade work. "The 300-odd unused and hidden jawans have been deployed in six teams of 50 jawans each for crime control," Kumar said.
Furthermore, Kumar found that some police personnel were attached as bodyguards to "fake" VIPs. "Around 50 people are carrying bodyguards in an unauthorised way. This will be discontinued," Kumar said.
Following the check, the DIG suspended Police Lines' munshi Raju Prasad and a sub-inspector for not maintaining records and for other omissions. Kumar directed the formation of a special commando unit with 35 commandos, who will be stationed at the Kotwali station. He also asked for deployment of two armed guards and around 50 bikes across police stations to improve policing.
A senior police official said that 500 personnel being out of action makes for a worrisome scenario for a short-staffed city police force of around 10,000 cops.
Crime control has been a top agenda of the Nitish Kumar-led NDA regime in Bihar.
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