LAW, ORDER AND JUSTICE

POLICE DEPARTMENT

Functions: The primary duty of the Police is prevention and detection of crime and maintenance of law and order, the apprehension of offenders, escorting and guarding of prisoners, treasure, private or public property of which they may be placed in charge, and the prosecution of criminals. They have. However, various other duties to perform such as control and regulation of traffic. service of summonses and execution of warrants in criminal cases, inspection of explosives and poison shops, extinguishing fires, giving aid to displaced persons and pilgrims, verification of character, passport and naturalisation inquiries, etc.

Organisation: Under Section 17 of the Bombay Police Act (XXII of 1951), the District Magistrate has full control over the District Police Force. In exercising this authority, the District Magistrate is subject to the rules and orders made by the State Government and to the lawful orders of Revenue Commissioner. Under Section 6 (1) of the said Act the direction and supervision of the whole Police Force in the State vests in the Inspector General of Police, who is assisted by one or more Assistant Inspectors General of Police of the rank of District Superintendent of Police. It is the province of the Inspector General of Police to advise the Government on all problems, especially those connected with Police personnel. their training and equipment, supplies and stores, financial provision for the functioning of the force, the powers and duties of various grades of officers and to make rules and orders for the guidance of the officers on all such matters. He has to keep in touch, by frequent inspection, with the requirements of the Police force so as to maintain its efficiency and he has also to keep due watch over all matters relating to the maintenance of law and order and prevention and detection of crime.

For the purpose of administration, the State is divided into 4 Police Ranges, besides the 3 Police Commissionerates in Greater Bombay, Pune and Nagpur. In Greater Bombay, the Commissioner of Police, who is second in the police hierarchy, is in charge of the Greater Bombay Police Force. The Commissioners of Police in charge of the Pune and Nagpur Police Commissionerates are of the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police.

The State Criminal Investigation Department is divided into two branches viz., (1) Intelligence and (2) Crime and Railways, each under a Deputy Inspector General of Police. Both the Deputy Inspectors General are assisted by one or more Assistants of the rank of Superintendent of Police and have a number of Deputy Superintendents of Police, Inspectors, Sub-Inspectors and Head Constables working under them. There are Criminal Investigation Department Units at important places in the State, each under a Deputy Superintendent of Police assisted by the necessary subordinate staff

There are eight State Reserve Police Force Groups, each under a Commandant of the rank of Superintendent of Police. These groups are under the control of the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Armed Forces, Bombay.

The Police Training College, Nasik. the Regional Police Training- Schools at Khandala, Jalna and Nagpur and the Motor Transport organisation are under the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Training and Special Units, Bombay. The wireless organisation is headed by an officer designated as the Director of Police Wireless, who is of the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police.

Each range in the State, which is in the charge of a Range Deputy Inspector General, is divided into districts. Each range corresponds to the respective Revenue Division, except that of Ratnagiri which is in the Bombay Revenue Division and is included in the Pune Police Range, and Ahmadnagar which is in the Pune Revenue Division and is included in the Bombay Police Range, the reason being that because of their geographical position, the Police working in the districts of Ratnagiri and Ahmadnagar can more conveniently be supervised by the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Pune Range, whose headquarters is at Kolhapur and the Deputy Inspector General of Police Bombay Range, whose headquarters is at Nasik, respectively.

Subject to the control of the Inspector General of Police and District Magistrate in their respective spheres of authority, the direction and regulation of the Police throughout the district is vested in the Superintendent of Police, who, as executive head of the Police force, has full control over the internal economy and discipline of the force under him. His primary duties are to keep the force under his control properly trained, efficient and contented and to ensure, by constant supervision, the proper and effective prevention, investigation and detection of the crime in his district.

Each district is divided into two or three sub-divisions. Each sub-division is in the charge of a Sub-Divisional Police Officer, who is of the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police or Deputy Superintendent of Police and he is responsible for the prevention, investigation and detection of crime in his charge. Subject to the general orders of the Superintendent of Police, he is responsible for the efficiency and discipline of the officers and men in his sub-division. He has to hold detailed inspections of Police stations and out-posts in his charge at regular intervals.

The Akola district, which has its head quarters at Akola, is divided into three sub-divisions, viz., Akola City Sub-Division, Akola Rural Sub-Division and Washim Sub-Division. Akola City Sub-Division which has its headquarters at Akola, corresponds to Akola tahsil. Akola Rural Sub-Division consists of the Police stations in Balapur and Akot tahsils and Police stations at Mana and Murtizapur in Murtizapur tahsil. The headquarters of this sub-division is at Akola. Washim Sub-Division has its headquarters at Washim and it consists of Police stations in Washim tahsil, Mangrulpir tahsil and two Police station's viz., Karanja and Dhanaj in Murtizapur tahsil. Each sub-division is in the charge of a Sub-Divisional Police Officer. He is responsible for all crime work in his charge. He also visits all scenes of serious offences as laid down in the Standing Orders.

At the district headquarters, the Superintendent of Police is assisted by an Inspector of Police, who is designated as Home "Police Inspector and works as a Personal Assistant to the Superintendent of Police. He supervises the working of the office of the Superintendent of Police which consists of the establishment, accounts, crime and confidential branches, disposing of routine correspondence and various other miscellaneous items of work. He also supervises the work at the District Police headquarters.

There are 25 Police stations and 9 out-posts in the district. Of these, two are urban Police stations, viz. City Kotwall, Akola and Ramdaspeth, Akola, five are tahsil Police stations and the rest are Rural Police stations. The City Sub-Division consists of five Police stations viz.. City Kotwall, Akola. Ramdaspeth, Akola. Borgaon, Barshitakli and Pinjar. The Rural Sub-Division has 10 Police stations viz., Akot, Telhara, Hiwarkhed, Dahihanda, Balapur, Patur, Channi, Ural. Murtizapur and Mana and 5 out posts viz., Panchgavan, Kutasa, Paras, Nimbhi and Kurum. The Washim Sub-Division comprises 10 Police stations viz., Washim, Shirpur, Risod, Ansing, Jaulka, Mangrulpir, Manora. Asegaon. Karanja and Dhanaj and 4 out posts viz., Malegaon, Medsi,  Poharadevi and Umbarda Bazar. A Sub-Inspector of Police is ordinarily the officer in-charge of the Police station. A Police Station Officer exercises all the powers as defined in the Criminal Procedure Code. The Sub-Inspector is responsible for the prevention and detection of crime in his charge and for the implementation of the orders and instructions issued by the superior officers. He is also responsible for the proper maintenance of the discipline of the Police under his control. He is provided with the required strength of Head Constables and Constables for attending to various duties in his charge. The Head Constables keep him informed of all crimes in their beats and assist him in the investigation and detection of crime. When in charge of a particular post or beat, the Head Constable acts in all Police matters in co-operation with the heads of the village Police i. e., the Police Patils. When attached to a Police station, the senior most among them present at the Police station at any particular time holds charge of the Police station in the absence of the Sub-Inspector and attends to all routine work, including investigation of crime and exercises all the powers of the Police Station Officer as laid down in the Criminal Procedure Code.

The Police Constables perform such duties as are laid down in the Standing Orders and circulars, etc., and also those entrusted to them by the Sub-Inspector and the Head Constables under whose charge they are posted.

During the year 1968 [ During 1973, the strength of Police force was 1,616.] (as on 31.12.68) the strength of the district Police Force was 67 officers and 1.434 Policemen. The composition of the Police Force was as under: —

The expenditure on the establishment in the district for the year 1968 was Rs. 45,15,519. The ratio of Police to area and population worked out to one Policeman to 7.27 square km. and 816.3 persons.

Recruitment: Recruitment to the cadre of the Assistant Superintendent of Police in the Indian Police Service is made by the Government of India on the recommendation of the Union Public Service Commission. On appointment, an Assistant Superintendent of Police is attached to the National Police Academy, Abu, for training for a period of one year, and after successful completion of the training, he is sent to the State to which he is allotted for further training. On arrival in Maharashtra State, the Indian Police Service Probationers are attached to the Police Training College, Nasik for 3 months and then posted to districts for practical training for 9 months before they are appointed to hold independent charge as Sub-Divisional Police Officers. The Assistant Superintendents of Police are considered eligible for promotion to senior posts in the Indian Police Service Cadre after their confirmation in the Indian Police Service in vacancies in the direct recruitment quota.

Seventy percent of the total number of appointments on the sanctioned cadre of the Deputy Superintendents of Police are filled in by promotion from the lower ranks of the District Police Force and the remaining 30 percent by direct recruitment, which is made by the State Government from candidates recommended by the Maharashtra Public Service Commission. Candidates appointed by direct recruitment are attached to the Police Training College, Nasik, for training and are kept on probation for a period of two years and three months. During the first two years of their probationary period, they are required to pass the departmental examinations prescribed by the Government.

After a year's training at the Police Training College, they are required to undergo military training for 5 weeks and there after practical training in the district for the remaining period of probation. They are considered for promotion to the Indian Police Service Cadre after they have put in eight years of service as Deputy Superintendent of Police.

Appointments of Inspectors of Police are made by, the inspector General of Police by promotion of Police Sub-Inspectors, who arc found fit for promotion by the Selection Board, comprising the Inspector General of Police as Chairman and the Commissioner of Police. Deputy Inspectors General of Police, as members. No direct recruitment is ordinarily made.

Recruitment of Sub-Inspectors is made by the Inspector General of Police both by promotion of officers from the lower ranks of the District Police Force and by direct recruitment. 50 percent of the vacancies are filled in by direct recruitment. Of the remaining 50 percent, 25, percent of the vacancies are filled in by departmental candidates passing through the Police Sub-Inspector's course at the Police Training College, Nasik and the remaining 25 percent by promotion of officers from the lower ranks.

Candidates for direct recruitment may be selected either from outside as well as from within the Police department. On recruitment, they are required to undergo training in the Police Training College, Nasik, as Police Sub-Inspectors. The selection is made by the Inspector General of Police, assisted by a Committee comprising the Commissioner of Police, Bombay, a Deputy Inspector General of Police and the Principal, Police Training College, Nasik.

Recruitment to the posts of Police constables is done directly. As for Head Constables, it is generally done by promotion from the rank of constables However, to attract better educated men, recruitment of Head Constables is made direct from qualified candidates to the extent of 33 percent of the vacancies that may occur.

Anti-Corruption and Prohibition Intelligence Bureau: With a view to eradicating the evil of corruption and ensuring a more effective implementation of the Prohibition Policy of the Government, the Anti-Corruption and Prohibition Intelligence Bureau has been created under the control of a Deputy Inspector General of Police, who is designated as the Director, Anti-Corruption and Prohibition Intelligence Bureau, Maharashtra State, with his headquarters at Bombay. He has been declared as a head of department under the administrative control and supervision of the Home Department of the State Government. He is assisted by an officer of the rank of Superintendent of Police, who is ex-officio Deputy Commissioner of Police, and six other officers of the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police/Deputy Superintendent of Police. The Bureau has its offices in all districts and has four regional units with headquarters at Bombay, Pune, Aurangabad and Nagpur, each in the charge of a Deputy Superintendent of Police. The unit for Greater Bombay is in the charge of the Deputy Commissioner of Police.

The Anti-Corruption Unit at Akola consists of one Police Inspector. 2 Head Constables and 2 Police Constables.

State Reserve Police Force: In order to provide the Armed Force which may be required at any place in the State to deal with any serious disturbances or other similar emergencies, the State Reserve Police Force, trained more or less on military lines and equipped with modern weapons, has been organised under the Bombay State Reserve Police Force Act, 1951, (Bombay Act No. XXXVIII of 1951) and stationed in groups at important centres in the State. Each group is under the control of a Commandant (who is an officer of the rank of a Superintendent of Police), assisted by the necessary staff of officers of different ranks. The groups are provided with wireless and motor transport sections.

Railway Police: The control and administration of the Railway Police which comprises two separate charges are vested in the Superintendent of Police, Central, South-Eastern and Western Railways, Nagpur and the Superintendent of Police, Central, South and Eastern and Western Railways. Pune, each of whom has a separate force under him, organised on the lines of the District Police. He junctions under the supervision and control of the. Deputy Inspector General of Police, Crime and Railways (Criminal Investigation Department), Maharashtra State, Pune and the Inspector General of Police, Maharashtra State, Bombay.

Training Institutions: The Police Training College, Nasik provides the initial training for officers of and above the rank of Sub-Inspector and also for the refresher training for qualified Head Constables in the duties of Police Sub-Inspector. It is in the charge of a Principal, who is of the rank of a Superintendent of Police. He is assisted by a Deputy Superintendent of Police designated as Vice-Principal and by the requisite number of Police Inspectors, Police Prosecutors, Sub-Inspectors and Head Constables, who are employed as Instructors.

There are four Regional Police Training Schools at Khandala, Jalna, Nagpur and Bombay, which provide training for unarmed constables. They are in the charge of Principals, who are of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police or Assistant Commissioners of Police. The Principals are assisted by the necessary stall of Inspectors, Police Prosecutors, etc.

Women Police Branch: The main functions of this branch are to help in the recovery of abducted women, to attend to the convenience and complaints of female passengers at important railway stations, to apprehend and search female offenders, to help in the administration of the Bombay Children Act and the Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act, to man the Police telephone exchanges, to keep vigilance at places of worship or public entertainment, etc. They also help Police officers at the time of holding inquests on dead bodies of women, whenever required.

The Women Police Branch in the Akola district consists of 2 Head Constables and 4 Police Constables.

Armed Inspection Branch: There is an Armed Inspection Branch under the charge of a Deputy Superintendent of Police, whose headquarters is at Bombay. He is assisted by 2 Police Inspector, one Police Sub-Inspector, 2 Head Constables and 4 Police Constables. The main function of the branch is to inspect the arms and vehicles held in the various Police units and to ensure proper upkeep and maintenance of the same. The branch is under the control of the Deputy Inspector General of Police. Armed Forces.

A Motor Transport Section for the whole State under the control of a Superintendent of Police, designated as the Superintendent of Police, Motor Transport, is organised for maintaining a Heel of motor-vehicles and water-craft for Police duties. It consists of (i) a District Motor Transport Section at the headquarters of each district and each State Reserve Police Force Group, (ii) the Central Motor Transport Work-Shoo together with mobile units at Pune, Aurangabad and Nagpur and (iii) the Mobile Repair Unit for Police Water Craft with headquarters at Thana. The District and State Reserve Police Force, Motor Transport Section, which consist of motor vehicles and in some districts of water-craft as well are under the administrative control of the Superintendent of Police of the district or the Commandant of the Group concerned, as the ease may be, and for technical supervision under the Superintendent of Police, Motor Transport.

The Akola district has a fleet of 13 motor vehicles and 1 motor cycle.

Wireless Grid: In order to facilitate speedy communications pertaining to law and order between the various Police units in the State and with other States, a Police Wireless Grid has been established and it is under the control of a Deputy Inspector General of Police, who is designated as a Director of Police Wireless, Maharashtra State, who has his headquarters at Pune. The Grid comprises wireless telegraphy circuits of high frequency and very high frequency with static and mobile stations and broadcast service stations. There are wireless stations at the headquarters of each District/State Reserve Police Force Group and in the three Commissionerates of Greater Bombay, Pune and Nagpur cities. The wireless personnel in the City Commissionerates and those attached to the districts and the State Reserve Police Force Groups are under the control of the Commissioner of Police, Superintendent of Police and the Commandant of the State Reserve Police Force Groups, concerned.

The Akola district has a net-work of high frequency system of communications. There are 2 static high frequency wireless stations in the district and one high frequency mobile station.

Village Police: At the village level, the District Police are helped by the village Police. The control of the village Police, is vested in the District Magistrate. The District Magistrate may, however, delegate his authority in certain matters to the Superintendent of Police. Each inhabited village has a Police Patil. The Police Patil is required to collect information regarding suspicious strangers and important occurrences in the village and send it to the Police station. He has to keep a strict watch over the movements of the notorious characters and criminals under surveillance of the Police. He is required to give information to the Police station of any offence committed in the village. When a beat duty Policeman goes to the village, the Police Patil has to give him all the information he possesses about all events in the village. The Police Patil is also responsible for maintaining law and order in the village.

In 1968, the number of Police Patils in the district was 1,413.

Literacy: Amongst the 67 officers and 1,434 Policemen of the Akola District Police Force at the close of the year 1968, 13 were illiterate. The percentage of illiterate men to the actual number of men in the force was 0.90, which is due to the fact that illiterate men were also enlisted in the erstwhile Madhya Pradesh State and they were absorbed in Akola district after the reorganisation of States.

Two tear gas squads of 1 Sub-Inspector and 20 Policemen have been formed in the district. Each squad consists of 2 Head Constables and 8 Police Constables.

Crime : The following statement shows the crime reported to the Police during the year 1973 and the preceding four years.

The important crime reported during the year 1968 and the preceding four years was as under:-

The incidence of the reported cognizable crime (Classes I to V) per thousand population of the district during the year 1968 and the preceding four years was as under:—

Housing: Officers of and below the rank of Police Inspectors are entitled to rent free quarters. In 1968, out of 67 officers and 1,434 men, 56 officers and 946 men were housed in Government quarters. The remaining officers and men lived in private buildings on hire.

Prosecuting staff and prosecution: There were 10 Police Prosecutors in the district. The senior most Police Prosecutor stationed at the district headquarters supervises and co-ordinates the work of all the Police Prosecutors. Each Police Prosecutor is entrusted with the work of prosecution of criminal cases in one or more courts. The total number of cases conducted by the prosecuting staff in the year 1968 was 4,938 of which 4,210 cases ended in conviction.

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