Bhubaneswar: The overall law and order situation in the State remained by and large peaceful, said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday.
During the period, the State has been relatively free from any form of communal discord. The Elections to PRI 2022, Urban Local Bodies 2022 and Elections to different Co-operative Societies were conducted peacefully in the State. The Rath Yatra of Lord Shri Jagannath with devotees participating in lakhs after two years was also conducted smoothly due to elaborate Police arrangements, the Chief Minister said in reply on Home, and GA & PG Department demand discussion.
Intensity of overall Maoist violence has come down in the State. The Panchayat Elections have been conducted incident free in LWE affected areas with high voter turnout despite determined efforts by Maoists to hinder the poll process, he said.
Naveen said that strengthening the police machinery both in terms of human resources and infrastructure has been the priority of my Government. A total of 944 posts in various ranks have been created for Odisha Police last year. Dedicated Police Stations for Cyber Crime & Economic Offences have been created. Further, recruitment process is going on for filling up of about 1730 posts in the rank of SI/ASI in Police and posts in various ranks of Jail as well as under Fire Services. Government has created about 200 posts for 28 Police Outposts. Similarly, during the current year so far, Government have created 3 Security Companies in 3 IR Battalions in the State with creation of 663 posts in different ranks, he added.
The Chief Minister said, “Prisons Development Board has been constituted in order to improve and modernize the infrastructural facilities in Prisons. My Government has also recently enhanced the daily wages of the convicts based on the level of their skills. As part of social inclusion and upliftment of all sections of society, transgenders were given permission to apply for the post of Sub-Inspectors in Odisha Police”.
“My Government has created several institutional mechanisms like Integrated Anti-Human Trafficking Units, Investigation Units for Crime against Women, Mahila and Sishu Desks and Crime Against Women and Children Wing with commensurate manpower. All women related heinous crimes are being treated as “Red Flag Cases” and Special Public Prosecutors are engaged for these cases. All Police Stations of the State are being covered under elaborate CCTV coverage and installation of CCTV has been completed in 584 Police Stations out of 593 Police Stations”.
To deal and prevent growing cyber-crime, 15 Cyber Crime and Economic Offence Police Stations have been established in the State. All Police Stations of the State are covered under “Mo Sarkar” in order to achieve highest level of accountability and transparency through the feedback from the complainants/ citizens. More than 78 thousand random calls were made to the citizens who visited Police Stations. More than 90 percent citizens have given good rating to the police, he added.