AGARTALA, Jan 19 � Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar today said the three-decade-old insurgency in the State has been controlled to a great extent due to joint efforts by the police and the public.
The government approach was to handle militants with a firm hand without disturbing the innocent people and it paid off finally, he said while speaking at a national level seminar on Police reforms organised by the Tripura Police Accountability Commission at the State Guest House here.
�We do believe that cops have no right to disturb the peace loving people and at the same time the government has mandated the police to act against those who pose threat to peace and tranquility�, he said.
Noting that militancy has not been uprooted fully, Sarkar said the accountability of police could not be seen in isolation since the police are also human. �For one�s mistake, the society could not blame the entire police force. If sensitisation of police is done, then handling of police forces becomes easier�, he said.
Sarkar further said, �People have been facing various problems and increasingly becoming restive as their basic needs are not addressed. In such a situation, it�s tough for police to maintain peace�.
Chief Justice of Tripura High Court Deepak Gupta candidly said the State police have done a commendable job in tackling militancy in the State. �I have visited almost all the subdivisions during my ten month stay in Tripura as Chief Justice and did not find anything wrong in regard to the militancy. I am ready to give A or A+ grade to the State police for containing militancy here�, he said.
However, Justice Gupta said, �I am sorry to say the State police needs improvement in investigation process. The investigation process is very very poor in quality�.
�If you don�t improve the quality of investigation, then it will affect the judiciary delivery system. If people lose faith on the justice delivery system, you will invite trouble�, Justice Gupta said adding that the investigation should be so good that the guilty should not go unpunished.
Laying emphasis on the introduction of cadre service for Public Prosecutor for improvement in prosecution process, Justice Gupta also slammed the police for not taking steps against the accused person promptly.
Citing an example, Justice Gupta said, �In some cases, police wait the victim to lodge a complaint or an FIR after the incident. For an illiterate person or victim, it is certainly a trouble to register a complaint immediately after the incident. In such cases, police can register the complaint or FIR suo-moto and start investigation into the heinous crime�.
The Chief Justice also mentioned that one victim of burn injuries was admitted in GBP Hospital for a month but the police did not get time to record her statement. �Is it good policing? Police should not wait for the victim to lodge a complaint, rather they should take early steps as per available laws of the land.�
