Centre to bring Amendment Bill to reform Police Act

Kolkata, Jan 22 (UNI) The Centre will bring an Amendment Bill in the Budget session of Parliament, seeking reforms in the existing Police Act.

''The Union Home Ministry has been working for the past six months to finalise a draft of the Bill, which is now in an advance stage. The Bill will be placed in Parliament in the Budget Session,'' Union Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal today said.

The Minister, who was interacting with the members of Merchants Chamber of Commerce during a discussion on national security, said the proposed Bill would address the deficiencies in the 1861 Police act, rechristening it as ''Police Reforms Act''.

''After the amendment, the new act would be in force in the Union Territories of Delhi and Chandigarh and copies of the act would be sent to all state Governments for their consideration,'' he said.

To a question, Mr Jaiswal said though it was not mandatory for the states to implement the new act, it would be the Centre's ''suggestion'' that the amended act was ''emulated as far as possible''.

Referring to the security challenges to the country, Mr Jaiswal said the UPA Government trying to cope up with the problems of insurgency by various groups and the threat of Naxalite activities.

He called upon the affected states to raise 'India Reserve Battalion' to strengthen security measures against such forces saying the centre would provide the necessary funds.

Mr Jaiswal observed that it was not possible to wipe out Naxalite activities unless the affected states built up cooridnation among themselves. However, the centre had already set up a coordination committee, headed by the Union Home Secretary, he said.

To another question, Mr Jaiswal said the 'Red Corridor' of the Maoists ran from Nepal to Andhra Pradesh touching upon certain belts of Bihar, Orissa and Chhattisgarh.

Speaking on the measures to minimise security threat and infiltration, Mr Jaiswal said the Centre had decided to introduce permanent ID cards for the people of the North-Eastern states. '' If the measure proves successful, the system would be introduced in other states as well, '' he said.

The Minister said fencing of India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal and Tripura would be completed in the next six months while the work along the India-Pakistan border in Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Gujarat was already over.

UNI