Politicised police force help crime rate soar in Odisha: Cong

The number of crimes in Odisha was increasing as the BJD government engaged the police force in political work, opposition Congress alleged today.
"There is a spurt in crimes in Odisha simply because the BJD government use the police for its political gain," Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra said while initiating a debate on the demand discussion of the home department.
Stating that the primary responsibility of the police was to maintain law and order and check crime, Mishra asked, "How can the police force function when they are engaged in political works."
There were 1832 rape cases registered in Odisha in 2013 and the state government admitted that 1785 of these were genuine, Mishra said adding only five persons had been convicted in these cases.

"It is a shame for all of us that we failed to protect our daughters, sisters and women," he said.
Elaborating on how the police force was being misused, Mishra alleged that the main accused in a case of assaulting a Congress MLA's son and brother were not arrested despite it was recorded in CCTV.

"The police have not been investigating in that (politicians' involvement) line. The Congress MLA from Jeypore has been running from pillar to post get justice as his son and brother faced attack by political opponents," Mishra said.
The murder of a BJD leader and husband of Titlagarh MLA before elections was an outcome of the infighting in the ruling BJD but it was not properly investigated, he alleged.

A Communist leader was hacked to death in Chhatrapur in Ganjam district and tender mafia were ruling the roost in Balangir district, the Congress leader said. "In all such cases, the accused persons get protection," he said.
Stating that there had been instances of false cases being slapped on leaders of opponent political parties, Mishra asked the government to remain impartial if it sincerely wanted to reduce crimes rates.
Stating that low rate (5.9%) of conviction was another reason for rise in crime in the state, Mishra said the government should stop political appointment of government advocates. He suggested to create dedicated government pleader cadre in order to give justice to the people.

Mishra, who is also a practising lawyer, said delay in registration of cases was another reason for low conviction rates in Odisha as criminals were getting adequate time to destroy evidences due to snail pace of investigation.
He suggested creation of crime investigation wing within the police system.