Govt to set up new police panel

Warning that the "so-called nexus" between politicians, criminals and police posed an insidious threat to the society, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today asked top police officers to resist politicisation and criminalisation of the force.

Addressing the annual conference of DGPs, IGPs and heads of central police organisations, the Prime Minister said the government would constitute a committee to come up with implementable suggestions to improve police administration in the country.

Referring to the NN Vohra panel report on the nexus, the Prime Minister said it "poses an insidious threat to our society and economy" and asked the top police officials to resist politicisation and criminalisation and restore the prestige and élan the police force once enjoyed.

He said many committees and commissions had suggested number of changes to improve police administration. They had also suggested a model police law to replace the 1961 Police Act, the Prime Minister added.

"In order to build on this work and take tangible steps, our government will be constituting a committee consisting of representatives of the government of India, of states and outside experts to examine the recommendations of all past commissions and committees and come up with a set of credible, implementable suggestions for improving the police administration in the country", the Prime Minister said.

Observing that the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the North-east and in states afflicted by Left-wing extremism was "specially challenging" in nature, Singh said the North-east stood at the "cross-roads of civilisation" and there were "myriad of forces" at work there.

"The North-east is more a 'salad bowl' rather than a 'melting pot' and this makes it difficult for the security forces and the bureaucracy to tackle problems", he said adding there was also an "identity crisis" posed by ethnic and societal faultlines in some parts of the region.

Noting that the spectre of Left-wing extremism continued to haunt, albeit in new forms, the Prime Minister said this phenomenon was a "function of underdevelopment" and it was not a coincidence that the tribal areas were the main battleground of Left-wing extremism today.

Maintaining that the present laws were inadequate to accommodate the needs and aspirations of the tribals and feudal elements also exploited them, he said dealing with Left extremism was not merely a law and order issue.

"This is more so now that Maoists in Nepal have become a major force and are trying to link up with Left-wing extremist groups across the border," Singh said and warned that this had the potential "an even graver threat than militancy in J&K and the North-east".