LAW, ORDER AND JUSTICE

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.

POLICE DEPARTMENT

POLICE

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, treasure or 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 warrants in criminal cases, inspection of explosive and poison shops and extinguishing fires and others such as giving aid to displaced persons and pilgrims, verification of character, passports and naturalisation inquiries, etc.

Organisation.

Under section 17 of the Bombay Police Act (No. XXII of 1951), the District Magistrate of the district 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, direction and supervision of the whole 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 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 required for the maintenance of the force and other powers and duties of various grades of officers, and to make rules and orders for the guidance of officers on all such matters. He has to keep in touch by frequent inspections with the requirements of efficiency of the Police force 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 three Commissionerates viz.. Greater Bombay, Poona and Nagpur. In Greater Bombay, the Commissioner of Police, who is the second in the Police hierarchy is in charge of the Greater Bombay Police Force. The Commissioners of Police in charge of the Poona and Nagpur 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 (ii) 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 a number of Deputy Superintendents of Police, Inspectors, Sub-Inspectors and Head Constables. 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. The State Reserve Police force groups are under the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Armed Forces. The Police Training College, Nasik, the Reserve Police Training schools at Khandala, Jalna and Nagpur and the Motor Transport Organization are under the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Training and Special Units, Bombay. The Wireless organization is headed by an officer designated as Director of Police Wireless, Maharashtra State, Pune, who is of the rank of Deputy Inspector-General of Police.

Regular duties.

Each range in the State which is in charge of a Range Deputy Inspector-General is divided into districts. Each district corresponds to the revenue limits except those of Ratnagiri and Ahmednagar. The district of Ratnagiri which is in the Bombay Revenue Division is included in Pune Police Range and the district of Ahmednagar which is in the Pune Revenue Division is included in the Bombay Police Range. For the proper Supervision the districts of Ratnagiri and Ahmednagar have been transferred to the Pune and Bombay Ranges, respectively, the headquarters of the latter being at Nasik. The Superintendent of Police, the head of the Police force in the district, has full control over the force. Among other duties, he is entrusted with the proper and effective investigation and detection etc. of crime.

Each district is divided into two or three sub-divisions. Each subdivision is in the charge of a Sub-divisional Police Officer who is of the rank of the 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 efficiency and discipline of the officers and men in his division. He has to hold detailed inspections of police stations and outposts in his charge at regular intervals. Wardha district is divided into two Police sub-divisions viz., Wardha sub-division and Arvi sub-division. To each of the sub-divisions one Police Inspector, called the Circle Police Inspector is attached. He is employed almost entirely on work relating to the prevention and detection of crime, the co-ordination of the working of the police stations under him and investigation of important and organized crime.

At the district headquarters, the Superintendent of Police is assisted by an Inspector, who is designated as Home Police Inspector. He works as personal assistant to the Superintendent of Police and is employed for supervision of the work in the office and accounts branches, disposing of routine correspondence and miscellaneous work.

There are 12 police stations in the district of which one is a town police station, 2 tahsil police stations and 9 rural police stations. A Sub-Inspector of Police is ordinarily the officer-in-charge of a police station. He is responsible for the prevention and detection of crime in his charge and for seeing that orders and instructions issued by the superior officers are carried out and the discipline of the Police under him is properly maintained. He has under him, the required number of Head Constables and Constables. The Head Constables report to the Sub-Inspector 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 Constables act in all police matters in co-operation with the heads of the village police. When attached to a police station, some of them hold charge of the police station in the absence of the Sub-Inspector and attend to all routine work including investigation of crime.

The Constables perform such police duties as may be entrusted to them by the Sub-Inspector and the Head Constables.

The control and administration of the Railway Police is vested in the Superintendent of Police, Central, South Eastern and Western Railways, Nagpur, who has a parallel organization on the lines of the District Police. He functions under the supervision and control of the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Crime and Railways (C.I.D.), Maharashtra State, Pune, and the Inspector-General of Police.

Anti-Corruption and Prohibition Intelligence Bureau.

With a view to eradicating the evil of corruption and for a more effective implementation of the prohibition policy of Government, the Anti- Corruption and Prohibition Intelligence Bureau has been created under the control of the Deputy Inspector-General of Police designated as the Director, Anti-Corruption and Prohibition intelligence Bureau, Maharashtra State, with his headquarters at Bombay. The Bureau has its offices in all districts and has four units with headquarters at Bombay, Pune, Aurangabad and Nagpur each in charge of a Deputy Superintendent of Police. The unit for Greater Bombay is in charge of a Deputy Commissioner of Police. The Anti-Corruption unit at Wardha is headed by a Police Inspector, who is assisted by one Police Sub-Inspector, 2 Head Constables and 2 Police Constables.

State Reserve Police Force.

With a view to providing the armed forces 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 organized 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.

Training Institutions.

(i) The Police Training College at Nasik provides the initial training for officers of and above the rank of a Sub-Inspector and for the refresher training of qualified Head Constable 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 necessary number of Police Inspectors, Police Prosecutors, Sub-Inspectors, and Head Constables who are employed as Instructors.

(ii) There are Regional Training Schools at Khandala, Jalna, Nagpur and Bombay which provide training for Constables for the Police Force and are in the charge of Principals, who are of the rank of Deputy Superintendents of Police or Assistant Commissioners of Police. The Principals are assisted by the necessary staff of Inspectors, Police Prosecutors, etc.

Women Police.

Women Police branches exist in almost all the districts 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 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 the senior Police officers at the time of holding inquests on dead bodies of women, whenever required. The women Police branch in Wardha district consists of 2 Women Police Head Constables and 12 Women Police Constables.

Arms Inspection Branch.

There is an Arms Inspection branch under the charge of a Deputy Superintendent of Police, whose headquarters is at Bombay. He is assisted by 2 Police Inspectors, one 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.

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 crafts for police duties. It consists of (i) a District Motor Transport section at the headquarters of each district (ii) the Central Motor Transport Workshop 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 sections which consist of motor vehicles and in some districts water craft, are under the administrative control of the Superintendents of Police of the districts or the Commandants of the Groups, as the case may be, and under the technical supervision of the Superintendent of Police, Motor Transport.

There is a similar Motor Transport section in Greater Bombay. It is under the control and supervision of an Assistant Commissioner of Police, Motor Transport. It is also under the technical control of the Superintendent of Police, Motor Transport.

The district has a fleet of 9 vehicles including one jeep and 2 light vans.

Wireless Grid.

A wireless grid for the whole State under the control of a Deputy Inspector General of Police, designated as the Director of Police Wireless, Maharashtra State, is organised for facilitating quick communication amongst the Police units in the State. The grid consists of wireless telegraphy circuits of high frequency and radio telephony circuits on very high frequency net work with static and mobile transportation stations and broadcast service stations. There are wireless stations at the headquarters of each District State Reserve Police Force Group and in the three Com-misionerates of Greater Bombay, Poona and Nagpur cities. The wireless personnel in Bombay and those attached to the Districts and State Reserve Police Force Groups are under the administrative control of the Commissioners of Police, Superintendents of Police and the Commandants of the State Reserve Police Force Groups, respectively.

The district has a net work of high frequency or long distance communication. The wireless station is located at the district headquarters.

Village Police.

At the village level, the District Police are helped by the village Police. Under the Bombay Village Police Act (VIII of 1867), the control of the village Police is with the District Magistrate. The District Magistrate may, however, delegate any of his authority 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 under surveillance of the police. He is required to give information to the Police station of any offence committed in the village. When a 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 the village Police Patils was 973.

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 protection of the persons, watch and ward, the security of property and the public safety of the villages. There were no village defence parties in existence in Wardha district prior to 30th June, 1966. However, at the close of the year 1968, village defence parties were formed in 180 villages with 2,047 members.

Strength.

At the end of the year 1968, the strength of the District Police Force was 42 officers and 790 men.

Expenditure.

The expenditure on the establishment of the district for the year 1968 was Rs. 22,76,086. The ratio of Police to area and population works out to one policeman to 7.58 square km. and 762 persons.

Recruitment.

Appointments of Superintendents of Police are made by promotion of Assistant Superintendent of Police in accordance with the 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 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 appointments 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. In the State the probationers are attached to the Police Training College, Nasik, for three months and in districts for practical training for nine months before they are appointed to hold independent charges of sub-Divisional Police Officers. An Assistant Superintendent of Police is considered eligible for promotion to a senior post in the Indian Police Service cadre after his confirmation in the Indian Police Service in the vacancy in the direct recruitment quota.

Seventy per cent of the total number of appointments on the sanctioned cadre of 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 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 examination prescribed by Government. After their training for one year at the Police Training College, they are required to undergo military training for 5 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 put in eight years' service as Deputy Superintendent of Police.

Appointments of Inspectors of Police are made by the Inspector-General of Police from amongst the Sub-Inspectors of Police who are found fit for promotion by the Selection Board comprising the Inspector-General of Police as a Chairman and Commissioner of Police/Deputy Inspector-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. Fifty per cent of the vacancies are 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 Police Training College, Nasik, and the remaining 25 per cent, by promotion of officers from lower ranks.

Candidates for direct recruitment may be either from outside the Police or from the Police department. These candidates are in the first instance, selected for 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 of the Commissioner of Police, Bombay, a Deputy Inspector-General of Police and the Principal, Police Training College, Nasik.

The Police Constables are recruited directly and Head Constables generally from the ranks of Constables. However, to attract better men, recruitment of Head Constables is made direct from qualified candidates to the extent of 33 per cent of the vacancies that may occur.

Literacy.

Among the total strength of 42 officers and 790 men in the Wardha district at the end of the year 1968, two men were illiterate.

Crime.

The following statement shows the cognizable and non-cognizable cases reported to Wardha Police during the years 1964 to 1968.

The following tables No. 1 and 2 show the important crimes reported to Wardha Police during the years from 1907 to 1946-47 and for the years 1964 to 1968.

TABLE No. 1

CRIME

TABLE No. 1—contd.

TABLE No. 2.

CRIME

The incidence of the reported cognizable crime per thousand population of the district during the quinquennium 1963-67 was as under:—

Prosecuting staff and Prosecutors.

In 1968, there were seven Police Prosecutors in the Wardha district. The total number of cases conducted by them was 3,012. They conducted prosecution of police cases in magisterial courts.

Officers of and below the rank of Police Inspectors are entitled to rent Housing, free quarters. In 1968, out of 42 officers and 790 men, 33 officers and 506 men were housed in Government quarters. The remaining officers and men lived in private and other buildings on hire.

Police Welfare.

The District Police has its own welfare fund. The fund is financed by subscription from the members of the Police department of the district except the clerks whose emoluments are below Rs. 150 per month tod grade IV servants. Special performances of shows, etc., are also held to augment the welfare fund. The following facilities were available to the members during the year 1968: monetary help for medical treatment; help for purchasing books to school going children; poultry farm; balak mandir; balodyan; powder milk; recreation centre; grinding mill; radios in Police hospital and headquarters, and sports.

There is a Government mess and canteen at the Police headquarters at Wardha.

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