LAW, ORDER AND JUSTICE

POLICE

THE FUNCTIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT ARE MANIFOLD and those relating to maintenance of law and order and security to life and property of citizens are carried out through Police, Judicial, Social Welfare and Jail Departments. In what follows is detailed the functioning and set up of these departments in the district.

Functions.- The primary functions of the police are the prevention and detection of crime, the maintenance of law and order, the apprehension of offenders, escorting and guarding of prisoners, treasury, private or public property of which they may be placed in charge, and the prosecution of criminals. They have, however, various other duties to perforin, 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 the revenue commissioner. Under section 6 (1) of the Bombay Police Act, 1951, the direction and supervision of the entire Police Force in the State vests with the Inspector General of Police, who is assisted by one or more Assistant Inspectors General of Police of the rank of the 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 sanctioning 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 inspections, with the requirements of the Police Force so as to maintain its efficiency and has 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 four Police Ranges, besides the three Commissionerates in Greater Bombay, Poona 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 at Poona and Nagpur are of the rank of the 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. 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 the Superintendent of Police. These groups are under control of the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Armed Forces, Bombay.

The Police Training College at Nasik, the 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 the Deputy Inspector General of Police.

Each range in the State is in charge of a Range Deputy Inspector General and is divided into districts. Each range corresponds to the revenue division except that of Ratnagiri which though in the Bombay revenue division is included in the Poona Police Range and Ahmadnagar though in the Poona revenue division 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, Poona Range, whose headquarters is at Kolhapur and Deputy Inspector, General, Bombay Range, whose headquarters is at Nasik, respectively.

Subject to the control of the Inspector General of Police and the 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 of the force under him. His primary duties arc to keep the force under his control properly trained, efficient and content 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 charge of a Sub-divisional Police Officer, who is of the rank of the Assistant Superintendent of Police or the 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 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.

Buldhana district, which has its headquarters at Buldhana, is divided into two Police Sub-divisions, viz., Buldhana Sub-Division and Khamgaon Sub-Division, with their headquarters at Buldhana and Khamgaon, respectively. Each Sub-Division is in the charge of a Sub-Divisional Police Officer. He is responsible for all crime work in his charge and visits all scenes of serious offences as laid down in the standing orders. He is also responsible for the efficiency and discipline of the officers and men in his division.

At the district headquarters, the Superintendent of Police is assisted by an Inspector of Police, who is designated as the Home Police Inspector. He works as a Personal Assistant to the Superintendent of Police and supervises the work of the whole office 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 22 Police Stations and 6 out-posts of which 5 are taluka Police Stations and 17 Rural Police Stations. Buldhana Subdivision contains 11 Police Stations with headquarters at Buldhana, Chikhli, Dhad, Amdapur, Andhera, Deulgaon Raja, Mehkar, Lonar, Janephal, Kingaon Raja and Sakharkheda and 3 out posts, at Deulgaon Mahi, Dongaon and Sakharkheda. Khamgaon Subdivision also contains 11 Police Stations viz., at Khamgaon, Malka-pur, Borakhedi, Dhamangaon, Nandura, Jalgaon, Pimpalgaon Raja, Hiwar Kheda, Shegaon, Jalamb and Tamgaon and 3 out posts, namely at Chandurbiswa, Wadnerbholji, and Paturda. Jalgaon, Khamgaon. Mehkar, Malkapur and Chikhli are Taluka Police Stations, while the rest are rural Police Stations. A Sub-Inspector of Police is ordinarily the officer in charge of the Police Station. The 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 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 the various duties in his charge. The head constables keep him informed of all crime in their beats and assist him in the investigation and detection of crime. When incharge of a particular post or beat, the head constables act in all police matters in co-operation with the heads of the village police, viz., the police patils. When attached to a Police Station, the seniormost of them present at the Police Station at a 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 standing orders and circulars, etc., and also those entrusted to them by the Sub-Inspector and the head constable under whose charge they are posted.

The control and administration of the Railway Police in the district is vested in the Superintendent of Police, Central, South-Eastern and Western Railways, Nagpur, who has separate force under him, organised on the lines of the District Police. He functions under the supervision and control of the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Crime and Railways (CID), Maharashtra State, Poona, and the Inspector General of Police.

Recruitment.- Appointments of the Superintendents of Police are made by promotion of the Assistant Superintendents of Police and the Deputy Superintendents of Police in accordance with regulations made in that behalf by the Government of India in consultation with the State Government and the Union Public Service Commission. Recruitment to the cadre of an Assistant Superintendent of Police, who belongs to the Indian Police Service, is made by the Government of India on the recommendations of the Union Public Service Commission. On their appointment, they are attached to the National Police Academy, Abu, for training for a period of one year; and after successful completion of the training, they are sent to the States concerned for further training. On arrival in the State, the Indian Police Service probationers are attached to the Police Training College, Nasik, for 3 months and in the districts for practical training for 9 months before they are appointed to hold independent charges as Sub-divisional Police Officers. 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 per cent 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 per cent 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 departmental examinations prescribed by the Government.

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

Appointments of the Inspectors of Police are made by the Inspector General of Police by promotion of the Police Sub-Inspectors who are found fit for promotion by the selection board comprising the Inspector General of Police as Chairman and Commissioner of Police/Deputy Inspectors General of Police as members. No direct recruitment is ordinarily made.

Recruitment of the 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 per cent of the vacancies being filled in by direct recruitment. Of the remaining 50 per cent, 25 per cent of the vacancies are filled in by departmental candidates passing through the Police Sub-Inspector's Course at the Central Police Training College, Nasik and the remaining 25 per cent, by promotion of officers from lower ranks.

Candidates for direct recruitment may be selected either from outside or from the Police Department. These candidates in the first instance, are selected for training in the Police Training College, Nasik as Police Sub-Inspector. The selection is made by the Inspector General of Police assisted by a committee composed of 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 direct; and for the posts of head constables, it is generally from the rank of constables by promotion. However, to attract better educated men, recruitment of head constables is made direct from qualified candidates to the extent of 33 per cent of the vacancies that may occur.

Anti-Corruption and Prohibition Intelligence Bureau.-With a view to eradicating the evil of corruption and running 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 the head of the 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 the Superintendent of Police, who is ex-officio Deputy Commissioner of Police and six other officers of the rank of the Assistant Commissioners of Police/ Deputy Superintendents of Police. The Bureau has its offices in all districts and has four Regional Units with headquarters at Bombay, Poona, Aurangabad and Nagpur each in the charge of a Deputy Superintendent of Police. The unit for Greater Bombay is in charge of the Deputy Commissioner of Police.

The Anti-Corruption Unit at Buldhana is headed by a Police Sub-Inspector, who is assisted by 2 constables.

State Reserve Police Force.-With a view to providing the armed force which may be required at any place in the State to deal with any serious disturbances or other similar emergency, 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. Fach group is under the control of a Commandant (who is an officer of the rank of Superintendent of Police) assisted by the necessary staff of officers of different ranks. The groups are provided with win less and motor transport facilities.

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

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

Women Police Branch.-Women Police Branches exist in almost all the district's of the State. 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 Sup pression 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 the Executive Police Officers at the time of holding inquests on dead bodies of women, whenever required.

The Women Police Branch in the district consists of two women head constables and six women police constables.

Arms Inspection Branch.-There is an arms inspection branch under the charge of a Deputy Superintendent of Police, whose head quarters are at Bombay. He is assisted by 2 Police Inspectors, 1 Police Sub-Inspector, 3 Head constables and 4 Police Constables. The main function of the branch is to inspect the arms and bicycles held by the police regularly and to ensure their proper maintenance. The branch is under the control of the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Armed Forces.

Motor Transport Section.-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 fleet of motor vehicles and water craft for police duties. The Motor Transport Section at the district level consists of (i) a District Motor Transport Section at the headquarters of each district, and the State Reserve Police Force. Motor Transport Sections, which consist of motor vehicles, and in some districts, water craft are under the administrative control of the Superintendent of Police of the district or the Commandant of the group, as the case may he, and, for technical supervision, under the Superintendent of Police, Motor Transport.

The Buldhana district has a fleet of 8 vehicles including 2 jeeps, 1 state car and 5 personnel carriers.

Wireless Grid.-In order to facilitate quick communications pertaining to law and order between Police Units in this 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 designated as the Director of Police Wireless, Maharashtra State. The grid consists of 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 head quarters of each district/State Reserve Police Force group and in the three Commissionerates of Greater Bombay, Poona and Nagpur cities. The wireless personnel in Bombay and those attached to the districts and S. R. P. F. groups are under the control of the Commissioners of Police, Superintendents of Police and the Commandants at the S. R. P. F. groups concerned, respectively.

The district has a network of high frequency system of communications. There are two Wireless Stations in the District. One is located at the district headquarters and the other at Khamgaon.

Village Police.-At the village level, the District Police are helped by the village police. Under Bombay Village Police Act (VIII of 1867), the control of the village police rests with 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 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 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 1,188.

Village Defence Parties.-The Village Defence Parties are chiefly meant for the defence of the villages against depredations of dacoits and other types of criminals and for the protection of persons, watch and ward, security of property and the public safety of the villages.

At the close of the year 1968, Village Defence Parties were formed in 225 villages with 2,335 members.

Strength.-During the year 1968 (13-12-1968), the strength of the District Police Force was 52 officers and 959 men. The composition of the Police Force was as under:-

Literacy.- Amongst the 52 officers and 959 men of the Buldhana district at the close of the year 1968, none was illiterate.

Housing.- Officers of and below the rank of Police Inspectors are entitled to rent free quarters.

Prosecuting staff and Prosecutions.-There were eight police prosecutors in this 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 1968 was 4,261 of which 2,010 cases ended in conviction.

Welfare Fund.- A benevolent fund known as the 'police welfare fund' was started in the district with a view to providing amenities and comforts to the policemen and their families and other low paid staff of the department. The fund is of a private nature and is operated in accordance with the Welfare Fund Rules framed by the Inspector General and approved by the Government. The fund is raised through the periodical contributions of the members of the fund, donations and entertainment programmes, etc. staged for augmenting the fund. The fund is operated by the Superintendent of Police in his official capacity. Out of the proceeds of the fund, a news paper library, a floor mill, a balak-mandir, a sewing class, etc., have been started and conducted for the welfare of families and children of the policemen at the district headquarters. A multi-purpose hall has also been constructed for providing entertainment programmes, etc. Out of this fund, monetary help for purchase of school books, payment of tuition fees in respect of deserving students for school and college education, purchase of costly medicines not stored by Government hospitals, loans for purchase of sewing machines, is given. Sports articles are also supplied from this fund. Cheap grains shops are also being run from the fund for the benefit of the police families at Buldhana, Khamgaon and Malkapur. The balance in this fund at the end of the year 1968, was Rs. 73,139.06.

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