UDALGURI, Dec 14 - Appealing to the police department to become more people friendly, the Inspector General of Police for the BTAD region, Dr LR Bishnoi said, �The main function and duty of a policeman is to deliver rights of the common people to enjoy human rights without fear.�
�Today�s police force and the common people must know each other and both should come close to serve the purpose. People have become aware of their due rights. If you keep silent, the misconduct done by the police would not reach up to the concerned authority,� he said.
�The State Police Accountability Commission (SPAC) is a body which protects the rights of the common people in view of the negligence of duties by the police where common people could lodge their complaints against the police without fear,� he added.
He was addressing a gathering at an awareness-cum-interactive session on police accountability held at the auditorium of Udalguri College where more than 300 citizens from every walk of life participated.
The session, chaired by a retired Justice of the Gauhati High Court, PK Mochahary, dwelt around the theme to draw the police near the common people, to reform police as neutral and expert in its activities and to face the challenges ahead keeping law and order in the society.
While addressing the large congregation, Roshan Lal, Assistant District and Sessions Judge of Udalguri district and session court and secretary of District Legal Service Authority (DLSA) appealed to the police department to exercise common experience with a sense of belongingness to the people who approach a police station.
S Kakati, retired IPS officer of Meghalaya, on the occasion, elaborated on rule of law, police accountability, police reforms and threw light on the Assam Police Act, 2007 and its present role, relevance and effectiveness.
The awareness session was also addressed by Dr KC Dutta, senior advocate and president of Udalguri Bar Association, Rakesh Roshan, newly appointed Superintendent of Police of Udalguri district, Robert Narzari, MCLA of Dhansiri BTC constituency, Sadhana Hojai, Deputy Commissioner of Udalguri district, among others.
It is worth mentioning that the State Police Accountability Commission (SPAC) is a result of the Assam Police Act, 2007, formed under Section 78 of the Act to look into the serious misconduct of the police personnel which acts as a guardian of the common and helpless people of the society.
