THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Daltonganj, March 16: Palamu police are out executing pending warrants. The ECI handbook for police 2023 has laid down numerous instructions for the police to perform pre-poll days, poll day and post-poll days duties.
The Jharkhand Story correspondent spoke to SP Reeshma Ramesan, a 2017 batch Jharkhand cadre IPS officer, to learn how the police work.
The lady IPS officer does not believe in remaining in the media glare. She knows the task of conducting the Lok Sabha election is big in Palamu, and she and her team must prove their mettle. She is pulling out all the stops to make the LS polls smooth and fair.
This lady IPS officer has to see the ‘two’ Lok Sabha elections in one district, Palamu.
The Panki assembly constituency of the Palamu district falls under the Chatra Lok Sabha seat. Thus, the police in Palamu are to handle the Palamu Lok Sabha seat and part of the Chatra Lok Sabha seat.
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Excerpts from the interview:
Q: What is the number of the pending warrants?
A: It was 804 pending warrants on 1.1.2024.
Q: What is the execution rate of the pending warrants?
A: As of March 15, we have been able to execute 751 of the pending warrants. Warrants are executed in full gear.
Q: But warrants keep coming daily from the courts of law, and hence, there is always a good stock of warrants for the police to execute.
A: Very true. Warrants keep coming every day. We had 13 new warrants alone on March 15. The warrant casket can’t afford to be empty at any point in time.
Q: By this account, backlog and current warrants keep the police’s hands full.
A: Yes. There is a backlog of warrants. Before you wipe out your backlog, there is a fresh bundle of current warrants. So, it’s a round-the-clock job. But before either the general election or assembly election, execution of warrants is terribly expedited to shorten further the gap between the warrants dragging on and the newer warrants landing in.
Q: To be precise, how many warrants have you till March 15, 2024?
A: It’s 651 warrants.
Q: It is said warrants have been pending for more than two or three years. Is this true here, also?
A: A few warrants are lying undisposed for a couple of years. There are reasons for this. The man on whom the warrant is to be executed has moved out, leaving no postal trace of him. Again, persons to be served warrants are declared dead. Here, we have to move very cautiously. A mere hearsay that they are dead police will not believe. Police need a death certificate. This certificate, too, comes late. Police approach Mukhiyas for it. All these consume a lot of time.
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Q: One primary reason for the number of warrants going pending is the non-appearance of the witnesses in the courts of law. For their appearances, warrants are obtained, which shoots up the number of warrants immediately.
A: 83 per cent of warrants are for witnesses who skip courts’ notices. Warrants are issued and are to be executed to bring them back to the court for deposition.
Q: Such witnesses are mostly doctors and police officers.
A: Yes, but right now, I can’t give you the exact number of each of the two sects of the witnesses.
Q: It must be a neck-break speed for executing warrants ahead of the LS polls.
A: Our boys are on the job. Warrants are being executed during the police’s area domination drive or during its outreach to the CBM, which is a confidence-building measure.
Q: You have been fine-tuning in your fleet of police forces about violation of the model code of conduct and how to check it.
A: Yes, we have been consistently telling our boys about the types of violations of the model code of conduct and what appropriate sections of the PR Act or IPC will apply in the event of a breach.
Q: You must be cautioning your police about the booby traps, IEDs etc. which can’t be ruled out even when the extremism is down, but the Naxals are still out. There are a couple of roads fraught with the dangers of booby traps.
A: Police always get to know a better and safer approach to handling IEDs, etc. I can’t share with you any further details of it. We understand the sensitivity of the roads. We are taking total measures.
Q: How is the morale of the police force here in Palamu?
A: It’s too high. They are ready to face the tasks and challenges, and we are confident, but there is no room for complacency.
