DCP conducts audit, says 40 cops from Palwal to join Panchkula

PANCHKULA: After the TOI reported about staff shortage in the department of Panchkula police commissionerate, deputy commissioner of police (DCP) conducted a special audit and found 40 cops in Palwal district of Haryana without posting.


Deepak Gahlawat, superintendent of police (SP), law and order, Haryana, who is also holding the charge of Panchkula DCP, said five cops each would now be deputed at eight police stations in Panchkula district .

“During my audit, I found that 40 cops in Palwal have not been given any posting. They all have been called to join their duties in Panchkula. They will be posted in all the police stations of Panchkula,” he said.

Besides this, 5,000 constables are under training and would soon be posted in all the districts of Haryana, said the DCP.

Staff crunch has crippled the functioning of the police who are struggling to control the crime rate. In order to meet the national average of police-public ratio of 145 cops for one lakh people, Panchkula needs more than 2,000 cops to maintain law and order. The number of the cops in the city is less than the total number required.

Barely 1,031 police personnel are posted in Panchkula. Of which, over 350 are on VIP duties and 50 for security of the district court complex.

Senior police officers said: “There is an acute shortage of investigation officers. Each cop is overburdened. The traffic police are managing their wing with 100 home guards. Officials have told us that home guards are not authorized to issue challans or carry out investigation.”

Though, police have arrested vehicle lifters, snatchers and robbers, residents of Panchkula are still living under fear due to the increasing crime rate in the district.

Members of various resident welfare associations (RWA) have raised concerns about public safety before the local authorities as well as the state government a number of times.

Members of the RWAs said most of the state-level officers, ministers, high court judges, senior officers of the Army and paramilitary forces, bureaucrats and businessmen reside in Panchkula and all of them are living under threat due to the increasing crime rate.

Panchkula has its boundaries with Chandigarh, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and the district police have a bigger responsibility to play in order to maintain law and order. It has become problematic for the police administration to manage the increasing crime rate with less staff. Controlling traffic is a big issue in the city as there are only 32 traffic cops along with 40 home guards. While on the other hand, Chandigarh has 1,500 traffic cops.