Chief Minister Raghubar Das, taking a strong note over incidents of loot in city petrol pumps on Saturday, will be holding a high-level meeting with senior police officials to discuss the degrading law and order situation in the State after his return from Delhi. Meanwhile, the DGP held a special crime review meeting on Sunday with the officer in charge of various police stations to chalk out a strategy to get control over the deteriorating law and order situation in the capital.
According to the sources, the CM, he has directed the officer in charge of the concerned police stations not to return back to their stations till the culprits do not get arrested. Three petrol pumps in a row at Ratu, Harmu and Kadru in Ranchi were looted within a period of one and a half hours on Saturday by three young men riding a bike.
The police claim to have identified the robbers and several teams have been constituted but no breakthrough in cracking the crime could be made on Sunday. Some raids have been taken place at the homes of identified persons. The DGP during the meeting warned the officer in charge of city police stations that that they will be held responsible for any kind of incident of loot, theft or murder taking place in their areas.
The DGP, however, directed to fulfill the demands made by Ranchi SSP, including extra police force along with two wheelers and four wheelers, to man police stations across the capital city. Police officials were also told to take personal interest to check incidents of crime in Ranchi and increase patrolling in their areas.
“If any incident of crime takes place due to negligence of duty by an office in charge, strict action will be taken against him,” DGP said. It must be ensured that no more incidents of crime takes place in Ranchi, he said. Meanwhile, enraged over the successive incidents of loot in petrol pumps the Petrol Pump Dealers Association of Ranchi will go on a symbolic strike for 12 hours on Monday.
The decision was taken during a meeting of Petrol Pump Dealers Association held on Sunday followed by the incident of loot in three petrol pumps of Ranchi on Saturday evening. “As the incident of loot in petrol pumps in the city is increasing day by day and administration has not been able to check it despite our repeated requests to provide security to us, we have decided to go on a symbolic strike of 12 hours on Monday,” said Association Secretary Neeraj Bhattacharya.
According to Bhattacharya, if security could be provide to the banks, why police cannot provide armed security for the petrol pumps. “Petrol pumps in the State together earn a revenue of more than Rs1000 crore per year which is no less than any other sector,” argued Bhattacharya. According to the data provided by the association, as many as seven incidents of loot have been registered in the last 40 days, including the four incidents in the last one week. Bhattacharya alleged to insensitive attitude of the police department due to which the morale of the criminals have gone up in the city.