Setting Precedent the State Capital Way

by Siddharth Verma

January 17, 2006

Although I have been ceremoniously lounged on this news circuit for few months now it was a matter of time I started relaying my brain signals to PD readers sooner than later. With cyclonic winds of change lashing all corners of Bihar at the bygone husting it was only apt that stifled murmurs for social and economic upheavals acquired a more vocal pitch. While the new regime ushers us into year 2006 with promises bordering on conviction and belief, exorcising the satanic demons that has transgressed our state for eons calls for a complete makeover in executive, judiciary and legislature. As an afterthought striking that perfect balance between these three pillars of our democracy has always remained the archetype of any ideal governance. It almost forces us to cringe in despair how they have been brutally savaged by the society and its so-called safe-guarders that once sleepwalked into assembly elections with mocking disdain. May be a topic for another day.

It is reassuring that our new leader Mr. Nitish Kumar comes across as a social messiah who revels in simplicity and prides in social development at all levels. However walking those ropes of promises that Mr. Nitish Kumar securely anchored over the past couple of months could still snap under the weight of hyperbole that it is cloaked in unless we realize the ground realities before getting carried away. Ever heard of a term ‘House of Pain' that Mr. Jim Cramer uses on his show “Mad Money” for equities that will eventually be slaughtered at Wall Street, the same holds true for Bihar because just like those stocks are weak on fundamentals so are we when it comes to the basic tenets quintessential to nurturing a peaceful society.

However a start has to be made somewhere so without digressing too much from what I intend to showcase I would like to propose a “Crime Check Model” for our state capital Patna that could be the role model for other cities in Bihar in times to come -

1. Set up a “Special Sting Squad (SSS)” manned with undercover sleuths with established credibility that will stealthily run errands on state ministers and top bureaucrats and would report directly to Mr. Nitish Kumar. Any sinister play and SSS drops the ball on them.

2. Set up an “Anti-kidnapping Squad (AKS)” that will be responsible for doing their rounds in various nooks and cranny of the state capital on a daily basis. This however will be made public and the kidnappers be made aware that any attempt on their part would result in shoot at sight orders which could act as a BIG deterrent. As grapevine has it similar talks are underway, it remains to be seen when this thought will be pitched into reality.

3. Set up “Police Bandobast/checkpoints” at major road crossings such as Dak Bungalow Road, Exhibition Road, Frazer Road, Maurya Lok roundabouts, Bailey Road, Ashok Raj Path, Boring Road and deploying even stronger forces in crime infested localities. A multi-nodal communication bridge could be set up to “ping” round the hour updates to the rest of the checkpoints and local control stations. This could be a rotational shift switching every 8 hours.

4. Policing the Police - A “quarterly roll-check” policy on the performance of police officials of every local “thana” would keep them on their toes and any negligence on their part will have only one verdict – suspension or expulsion. Such quality indicators could go a long way in infusing efficiency and discipline among the “thana in-charge” and his men. Transferring these police officials on a quarterly basis to a different thana or district could shrug off some of the torpor that they infamously revel in when the crime is actually taking place. Rewarding bonuses for honest officials could be the ultimate trigger.

5. Set up Janta Darbars on alternate weekends presided by Mr Nitishji himself where the local masses would be allowed to trickle in and lodge their complaints directly to the Head of State.

6. Establish Jammers around the Jail facilities to prevent nefarious bandwidth to trickle on the streets and unleash mayhem.

7. I once read on the PD site that the state govt. was planning to install Closed Circuit TVs at various traffic signals to monitor criminal traffic especially when the city goes to sleep. A dedicated set of personnel monitoring these CCTVs 24/7 could be of great assistance in tracking down criminal activities.

8. A state sponsored Crime Profiling Division be setup to study criminal mindsets, establishing patterns emanating from their behavior. Often sampling such mindsets do make you stumble on clues, which could assist in unraveling and sabotaging evil plots.

One should not expect a volte-face of the state capital in weeks or months but proper implementation and execution of some of these ideas could act as deterrents to curb crime on the streets of Patna over the course of time. A fortiori I vociferously urge our readers to add their “two cents” to this list and so that a concerted reflection on our mindsets be directly addressed to Mr Nitish Kumar. Based on your feedback I would spawn a child thread to this post that will be an open parlance for round 2 of Setting precedent the State Capital way.

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