With the rising corona cases in State Capital, the Ranchi police have made changes in work culture while dealing with public complaints and lodging of FIRs. Most of the police stations in the State Capital have put barricades, restricting entry of people in police stations. At the same time, Officers on Duty (ODs) have been instructed to entrain complaints from outside the police stations.
People have been asked to drop their complaints in the drop boxes outside the police stations, based on which action will be taken. Most of the police stations in State Capital including Chutia, Lalpur and others are following standard protocol devised by district police. Sources said that the state police have devised the SOPs to check entry of people at police stations. Only those people who are having an important case will be allowed to enter police stations and for meeting Station House Officers (SHOs), people have been asked to follow corona protocol such as wearing masks, use of sanitizers, maintain social distancing and others.
Ranchi Rural SP Naushad Alam said, “The district police have devised SOPs after rise in corona cases in the Capital in past one month. As police interaction with masses is most it is high chances among police that they get infected.” Alam said. “In such a situation it is always advisable that cops maintain all SOPs and safety measures from getting infected.”
The Ranchi SSP Surendra Kumar Jha has also prepared guidelines for cops dealing with the public and criminals. As per the guidelines made by SSP, cops have been asked to wear PPE kits and maintain social distance while arresting criminals.
Cops have been asked to wear face shields, masks, use of sanitizers and maintain social distance. Cops have been asked to put surgical caps on their heads and gloves. As per the SOPs, the SSP has asked cops to sanitize their vehicles, houses and barracks.
As per the guidelines, cops have been advised to wash their clothes, police shoes after returning home from duty. Cops having suspected corona symptoms have been asked to carry out tests.
The State police using measures to check the infection assume importance as Jharkhand's Covid-19 tally rose to 1,41,750 on Tuesday as 2,366 more people tested positive for the infection, while 19 fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 1,232.
Ranchi district reported the highest number of new cases at 787, followed by East Singhbhum (370) and Ramgarh (142). Ranchi and Dhanbad districts recorded eight fresh fatalities each, followed by two in East Singhbhum and one in Lohardaga.
Moreover, the parameters of transmission, referred to as R or the reproduction number, suggests the pandemic might be growing faster in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar.
The effective reproduction number for Uttar Pradesh is estimated at 2.14, followed by Jharkhand (2.13) and Bihar (2.09). That means one infected person, on an average, infects more than two people in UP, Jharkhand and the neighbouring Bihar.