Five SIs suspended for dereliction of duty in UP

Five Station Incharge of separate police stations here have been suspended by the Inspector General for alleged dereliction of duty during a surprise check as part of a new initiative in "community-policing".

IG Kanpur, Ashutosh Pandey made surprise visits with his team to Civil Lines Police Station in Etawah district, Kayamganj in Farrukhabad, Nawabbad in Jhansi, Akbarpur in Kanpur (Rural), Kalyanpur in Kanpur (City), among others and suspended five station incharge.

Operation "Aaina" (mirror) which started on June 22 seeks to make the police officials working at various levels more efficient in terms of dealing with the public and resolving their issues, Pandey said.

Under the operation, the IG will visit various police stations for an inspection, either with or without prior notice, and check police's attitude towards the public. The public is called after the inspection and asked to speak openly about the police of their area, he said, adding, on the spot solutions are found to the problems narrated by them. The purpose of the drive is to gauge the public response on the working of the police and make the latter learn community policing, the IG said.

The operation is being carried in 176 police stations of Kanpur(City), Kanpur (Rural), Kannauj, Farukkhabad, Jhansi, Lalitapur, Mainpuri, Jalaun, and Etavah and five police officials, who were found neglecting their duties, have been suspended till now, he said.

In order to impart training to police officials in "community policing", various workshops will be held in which they will be instructed on how to deal with the public, Pandey said.

Also, police officials of various stations have been directed to hold a public meeting on third Sunday of every month in which they will listen to the problems of the people of their area. The first such meeting has been fixed for July 20, Pandey said. The IG however observed that in spite of giving a prior notice of inspection, various police officials did not do their "homework".

"Some officials are not even aware of the IPC section under which they are charging the accused," Pandey said.