Taking unruly people to task has been one of the prime agendas of the Rayagada police during the lockdowns and shutdowns in the entire district.
While discharging their duties, the police personnel too have faced the risk of Covid 19 infection. Out of 2,346 total infected in the district, 364 are frontline Covid warriors, mostly from police force.
Rayagada SP Dr Sarvana Vivek has kept the morale of the police force high. The risk of infection for police is so high that even the Rayagada police station was shut down for a few days as some police personnel got infected with the dreaded virus.
This has not deterred the police force to strictly adhere to minimum quality standards, budge to their traditional role and contain the illicit liquor brewing, marijuana trade, trafficking of cows and buffaloes, theft and robbery, etc.
To cite an example, recently the police of Kalyan Singhpur police station had a prized catch of 44 buffaloes transported to Andhra Pradesh for slaughtering purpose. The approximate value of the buffaloes was Rs 10 lakh. 11 vehicles were seized and the accused, Anil Gantha of Maligaon village, Chandu Chintada of Bhujagada village and Surya Rao Bacheli of Bada Raising village were arrested along with 14 other of their accomplices.
In yet another case, the Rayagada police got appreciation from several quarters when they recovered Rs 24 lakh, a Bajaj pulsar bike and arrested four persons namely Anil Garadia, Bibek Garadia, Bapi Mishal and Sudhanshu Mishal involved in a robbery case.
Meanwhile, the infected police personnel who recovered volunteered for plasma donation, responding to the clarion call of CM Naveen Patnaik.