Utopia? UP’s new police chief promises unbiased policing, end of goondas – Calcutta Telegraph

Lucknow, April 22 (PTI): The new police chief of Uttar Pradesh, Sulkhan Singh, on Saturday vowed to crush goondagardi and warned that even so-called VIPs would not be spared.

Singh said his priority would be ensuring unbiased policing.

Those indulging in goondagardi and criminal activities will be dealt without mercy. They cannot escape. And even VIPs will not be spared, the 1980-batch IPS officer said without mincing words.

He was talking to mediapersons after taking over as the Director General of Police from Javeed Ahmed, who was shunted to the Provincial Armed Constabulary as its director general on Friday night in the first major shuffle of the top police hierarchy by the Yogi Adityanath government.

Singh, the senior most officer of the Indian Police Service in the state, said there will be no compromise in ensuring security to the common man.

Uniform action will be taken against any wrong doer. There will be no bias, whosoever the culprit is or whatever political connection the person flaunts, he said, talking tough on the first day of assuming charge.

He said maximum cases will be filed and police will get full freedom to work without fear or pressure from any quarter.

Asked about his priorities, Singh said: My effort will be ensuring unbiased policing and keeping the morale of the force high.

When it was pointed out to him that he did not have a long tenure as his superannuation was due later this year, Singh, known for bringing several reforms in police, said, I have to prove my worth during this period.

To another question pertaining to allegations of rampant corruption in the police machinery, he said, Fair inquiry will be done in all cases.

My top priority would be to make policing humane and courteous, the DGP said.

Singh said policing should be impartial and the objective is to ensure relief to the common man.

Police should avoid high-handedness as every citizen belongs to the state. No one is an outsider, he said.

As DGP, Singh said his priority was the safety and security of women, who should feel safe even in the late hours.

In reply to a question, he said though he has come to know about Islamic State sympathisers in the state through the media, he would look into this challenge also on a priority basis and asserted that the force was highly capable to deal with any situation.

When asked about the sagging morale of the police force in view of over 100 cases of assault and killing of the men- in-khaki, Singh said that it was a contentious issue.

But, definitely if there is any demoralisation in the force, I would address it on top priority, he said.

Singh, who enjoys an impeccable record, was shunted to posts quite below the level of his seniority during rule of the Samajwadi Party, dislodged by Adityanath and the Bharatiya Janata Party earlier this year.

During the Bahujan Samaj Partys rule between 2007 and 2012, Singh had probed a scam in police jobs said to have taken place during 2003-2007, when Mulayam Singh Yadav and his SP ruled the state.

His report indicted several IPS officers. In 2012, when the SP came to the power again, he was sent to the Police Training Centre at Unnao as the principal, a post far below his rank.

Another landmark in his career was prison reforms as inspector general of jails. He has worked for human rights of prisoners and improving facilities for inmates.

Read the original here:

Utopia? UP's new police chief promises unbiased policing, end of goondas - Calcutta Telegraph