Centre sanctions Rs 2.5 crore for police modernisation

Panaji, Jun 19 (UNI) The Union Government has sanctioned Rs 2.5 crore for modernisation of police force in Goa as against Rs 30 crore tendered for the purpose, even as the state is embarking on computerisation of the police stations soon.

Disclosing this at a meeting of the ad hoc committee on Home of the state legislative assembly today, IGP Kishen Kumar said the state has already dispatched hardware and software to all the police stations and is waiting for a dedicated networking facility from the BSNL.

This, he said, would eliminate non-registration of complaints from the public at the police stations, even as efforts are underway to introduce ''help desk'' system in the police stations, like in Delhi, to help the general public.

The Centre has also tendered for procuring equipments, including boats for the special coastal security police, located at Betul, Siolim and Margao, to start with.

Chief secretary J P Singh said the administration would give top priority to special branch sleuths, by strengthening the force to ensure that they remained non-partisan.

He also assured the committee that a semblance of coordination existed between the tourist police, the tourism department and the civil police in the areas by fixing the responsibilities, without fleecing the tourists.

He said the Centre had sanctioned only Rs 2.5 crore for modernisation of the police force, as against Rs 30 crore asked for, with the state spending only Rs 4 crore during the last two years for the purpose.

Admitting that the police force was burdened with multiple activities including provision of security cover and traffic duties, Mr Singh said the law and order police would be separated from the specialists meant for investigating criminal cases in due course.

Earlier, the Chairman of the meeting and the Opposition leader Manohar Parrikar and BJP legislator Francis D' Souza questioned about lapses in the police administration.

They asked as to what happened to the vigilance probe into complaints against certain police officers building mansions with gratis secured from mining lobbies.

They alleged that the cases were being hushed up following political pressures. They demanded investigation into allotment of lands by the Industrial Development Corporation for Special Economic Zones and later withdrawal the lands following uproar.

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