What ails Odisha police system?

The Odisha police seems to be gripped by a serious leadership crisis. While the police is under severe political attack from the principal opposition party BJP over the last few days for the declining law and order situation in the state, the public perception is no different. Minister of State for Home Affairs Tushar Kanti Behera's recent statement in the legislative assembly that the state witnessed a 65 percent spurt in crime between 2018 and 2022 is being widely viewed as an admission by the ruling dispensation about the ineffective policing in the state.

The sharp rise in the crime graph is certainly a matter of concern for a state like Odisha which has long been seen as an oasis of peace. While the issue has generated considerable political heat in recent days, the loss of credibility of the men and women in khaki is generally being attributed to a steady erosion of leadership at the top of the force. This is despite the fact that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik himself has held the Home portfolio for the last 24 years. While Patnaik has created a fabulous image for himself both within and outside the state, for his good work in other sectors, his report card on the law andorder front is not something to write home about.

While the Chief Minister's no-nonsense approach, his denouncement of acts of crime and his directions on strict maintenance of law and order have left no one in doubt about his intentions, there are many who have trained their guns on him and the bureaucracy in particular for the burgeoning crime rate. To dismiss the criticism as merely political would be sweeping the reality under the carpet. No doubt, the Crime Branch (CB) sleuths' inability to crack the high-profile murder case of cabinet minister Naba Das even one-and-a-half months after the incident has fuelled the public outcry.

At a time when the force is under severe attack and the opposition has been time and again questioning the absence of effective supervisory mechanism expected of the DGP, Sunil Kumar Bansal, the latter's response to Das' killing was rather lukewarm."None other than Lord Jagannath could have predicted NabaDas's murder," he told the media six days after the crime. The top cop's initial silence on the sensational killing understandably came under harsh criticism and his subsequent statement on the issue lacked the conviction of authority.

It is just not the DGP but the entire top brass of the state police that seems to have become moribund. No visible efforts by them are in place to inspire, motivate and stand by the rank and file. Unfortunately, when the bigwigs feel that they do not have a free hand and their functioning is subjected to restrictions, a demoralization syndrome is bound to affect the system. That is precisely what has happened in Odisha. As a result, the chain of command of the police appears to be indefinable and uninvolved. Since many view that the selection to the top post of the police, of late, is not based on merit but on `pliability,' therefore, the leadership has become rudderless.

All this has taken a heavy toll on the khaki morale. Some officers with good track records have been sidelined with inconsequential postings and the leadership is unable to provide them protection. Bogged by such inertia, many of them have either developed a sense of indifference or are biding their time to superannuate.

What ails the Odisha police other than the leadership issue? The list is long. In the absence of any vibrant communication channel between the police and the state government, a lot of issues such as filling up the vacancies, provision for adequate resources and modernisation have taken a back seat. While the sanctioned strength of police per one lakh population is pegged at 147 in Odisha according to Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD), there are about 98 personnel. The actual figure is stated to be even less than 98 because of the existing vacancies. Odisha police which did a commendable job in containing the leftwingextremism through strategic planning and interventionis somehow lagging in controlling the rise in crime rate in the rest of the state. Lack of manpower, delayed trials and not so effective prosecution system are reflected in an abysmally low conviction rate which is about 5 percent.

Another area where police's attention is found to be grossly wanting is road safety management. There seems to be no urgency to address this issue though unlike murder, rape and dacoities, deaths due to road accidents are preventable provided a robust strategy and enforcement is in place. A periodic review of the functioning of Odisha police by the Home Minister who also happens to be the Chief Minister would go a long way to set right things.