Aimed at dealing with organised gangs involved in criminal activities, the Punjab Control of Organised Criminals Act (PCOCA) 2016 has been forwarded to the State Advocate General for re-examination.
The proposed Act, modelled on Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), failed to receive Cabinet’s nod in Tuesday’s meeting as the majority of Ministers were in support of re-examining the same.
“PCOCA has been kept pending and sent to the AG to see if there is any provision in the law which can be misused,” said a Government official.
It has been learnt that a majority of Ministers were of the view that certain clauses in the Act could be misused to settle scores with the political opponents.
Sources told The Pioneer that some of the Ministers minced no words to oppose the passing of the PCOCA, maintaining that it may go against the ruling combine. They reportedly stated that if the Act be implemented, who will vote for us.
The Act aims at ensuring imprisonment of dreaded gangsters, who in most cases are acquitted because of witnesses turning hostile. It proposes that confessions made before an SP would be admissible as evidence.
Besides, all electronic evidences gathered by the police will also be valid proof for 10 years. An officer of the rank of a Deputy Inspector General or above will be eligible to invoke PCOCA provisions after citing why the crime cannot be covered under the Indian Penal Code.
The Act also aims at empowering courts by allowing in-camera proceedings and a witness-protection programme. It also proposes to set up special courts to ensure speedy trial.
The Act was proposed at a time when the law and order has deteriorated to a great extent with the gangs becoming active against each other.
Already, the State Director General of Police (DGP) Suresh Arora had admitted that there is presence of total 57 gangs across the State and they have more than 400 gangsters or sharp-shooters. Out of these, more than 100 were operating from the prisons.
What gives credence to the DGP’s claims is the mass recovery of mobile phones, including smart-phones, mobile batteries, chargers, head phones, among other things in the recent State-wide raids across almost all State jails — enough to give the shew away on level of security inside jails.
If that is not enough, more than five gangsters have been killed in gang-war in past one-and-a-half-year.
Sources informed The Pioneer that these 50-plus gangs active across the State are armed with high-end weapons. It has been learnt that these gangs are now involved in war of supremacy, and threatening each other.
“Though these gangsters were there in the State, they have become quite active in the recent past. The recent three deaths and two deaths in the previous year show that they are out to beat each other and claim their supremacy over others. They are threatening each other and using social networking websites, including Facebook, as medium,” a senior Police official said.
Apprehending that the ruling combine may “misuse” these gangs and gangsters during elections, the Congress party had even sought the intervention of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and has also urged the Election Commission of India to take strong note.
Punjab Police had also stated that there was “not a single conviction” in 55 trials of gangsters since 2010 and they were acquitted as most cases had fallen flat because of witnesses turned hostile.
Between 1996 and March 2016, out of 105 concluded cases pertaining to gangsters, there were only 10 convictions while the rest resulted in acquittal, the police had said.