THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Daltonganj, Nov 3: Palamu Zonal IG of Police Shailendra Kumar Sinha is a man of few words, more of action, who has his priorities very few officers in his position would like to have since it has become a new trend among top cops to make big and loud rhetoric like a politician.
Sinha refrains from making statements. He said, “When I joined here, there was a huge lineup of festivals after festivals; nevertheless, police remain on the job all the time.”
The Jharkhand Story Network correspondent met IG Sinha on Monday, November 3, to know how he plans or has prioritised his plans for a better, effective and proactive policing.
Here are the excerpts of the mini interview.
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Q: Cases under sections of the Prevention of Atrocities Against SC and ST pile up in the three districts, Palamu, Latehar and Garhwa that constitute the Palamu zone of police without any sign of its reaching a logical end.
IG: There will be a definite review of the cases. The review will be transparent. It will be all fair and meticulous.
Q: Latehar district police have 14 such cases in the year 2025, out of which 11 cases are against the tribal community and 3 against the scheduled caste people.
IG: I can give you the statistics of all three districts, but what I am emphasising is that each and every such case will be thoroughly reviewed and the progress of the investigation into these cases will be evaluated.
Q: There is a growing drug menace. Girls are peddling it. It’s a dangerous sign here.
IG: I know girls are peddlers. The younger generation ought to be vigilant. It shouldn’t get entrapped. But in the same breath, I tell this menace of drugs is a degradation of social values. Let every law-abiding citizen come forward to fight it out. Police are there. It will be with the people, but a war on drugs has to be a massive mass outcry against it. The police did a good job of containing poppy cultivation. Our police are making outreach, making villagers aware of the ill effects of the poppy cultivation and the serious consequences of it when caught doing this illicit cultivation.
Q: The general public hears about cyber fraud, but it never knows the follow-up actions. A common man shows trust and confidence in a regular police station, but when it comes to specialised thanas like cyber thana, the common man is at his wits’ end. Why?
IG: This will be looked into sincerely.
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Q: You have set your priorities. One is said to be wiping out the pending cases. Right?
IG: Yes. I am all out to wipe out pending cases. Let its number be scaled down. I have asked our three SPs and other officials of this zone to ensure the pendency of cases is overcome. You know, cases keep coming up every day. And hence you can’t have a wishful thinking about all pending cases to vanish any sooner; nevertheless, I have spurred our officials to do one and a half fold more disposal of pending cases than what they have been doing right now. I will review the pace of disposal of the pending cases in January 2026. There are 2,500 pending cases in Palamu district. SP Palamu is very much concerned about it.
Q: Close on the heels of the enormous pending cases, departmental proceedings too need quick and fair disposal. Isn’t it?
IG: It’s my second high priority. Let all departmental inquiries and proceedings reach their logical end. Departmental inquiry and proceedings are two different things. It is to be dealt with professionalism. I remember Palamu has 25 cases of departmental proceedings, out of which it’s just 1 dragging on from the year 2024. I tell you, we will be reviewing POCSO cases, cases of atrocities against women and all such cases that affect the common people.
Q: There is organised crime in the Latehar district.
IG: Latehar district police have contained two Rahuls there, one a Dubey and the other a Singh. It’s after the two.
Q: Today’s Naxal scenario in the Palamu zone?
IG: It is very much contained. The action against Naxalism has been a continuous and consistent affair by each and every police officer who, during his or her tenure, did the best then, whose result is now being seen. It’s a long collective action.
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Q: On police public relations?
IG: It’s upward. It’s rising and growing. We get more and more info from the public. Under the civic action programme, we were able to convince the public about the ground reality, who now realise the real face and motive of the fake activists duping them for all these years.
