Expressing deep concern over the fact that around 75 per cent of the posts in the State’s jails are lying vacant for years, Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Sunday attributed it to lack of coordination and cooperation between police headquarters and State administration.
While addressing a programme, Rawat said he was fed up with police forwarding the excuse of the policemen not being willing to take up posts in the jails. “I want State police to ensure that policemen are deputed in jails in coordination with State administration,” he said.
Acting on the CM’s admonition, State police have decided to send a proposal to the administration for providing those cops who opt to switch to jails with deputation allowances. “We have sent such a proposal to the State administration,” said State director general of police BS Sidhu on Monday. According to him, some incentives must be given to the policemen to opt for deputation in the jails.
Notably, shortage of jail officials, including jail superintendent, jailor, deputy jailors, head warders, warders and female warders, has been leaving an adverse impact on the functioning of jail administration.
Shortage of jail staff spawned cases of security breach in the jails last year. Some mobile phones purportedly used by the inmates were recovered by some administrative officers when they inspected the jails in the past.
Earlier, the State police had sent a proposal to the State administration regarding deployment of 125 policemen in jails on deputation with the condition that recruitment process of jails officials would be started soon and completed in a year. With the State administration dithering, the matter has been hanging fire.
State police top brass said that despite the matter of deployment on deputation being put before the cops, they had not evinced interests so far. “But now if deputation allowances is linked to it things might change for the better,” a senior police officer said.
Things are indeed grim in the jails. A Pauri jail official said that they have been facing acute staff crunch for years. “The persons recruited through Uttarakhand Purva Sainik Kalyan Nigam limited (UPNl) can hardly be relied upon when it comes to monitoring CCTV cameras and jamming cell-phones. Jails being overcrowded are further compounding their problems,” he said.
It should be mentioned here that perturbed over increasing incidents of security breach inside and outside the jail campus in various districts of the State over the past few years, the State Government had recently handed over the administration of jails to an IPS officer, rupturing the longstanding tradition of leaving things to an IAS. However, things on the ground remain the same with state administration sitting over proposals and the police department being inclined to throw their hands in despair.