Cuttack: The malkhanas (storerooms) of police stations in the city have turned out to be the most unsafe place from where seized items have begun missing frequently, police officials informed.
While the police stations are equipped with CCTV cameras and the policemen are on duty there round the clock, reports of frequent disappearance of seized items have raised a big question. Although the incidents quite necessarily point fingers at the police, the men in khaki allegedly bury the issues to avoid controversies and prevent the image of their department from being tarnished.
Sources said, various items like gold, silver jewelleries, weapons, liquor, marijuana, vehicles and other items seized from criminals are kept in the malkhanas. As for seized vehicles, the policemen park them in front of the police stations or in their backyards, while gold and silver ornaments are kept in cells meant for female offenders.
However, most of the police stations under the commissionerate police in the city do not have storerooms. The Badambadi, Cantonment, Sadar, Choudwar, Jagatpur and Purighat police stations do not have storerooms.
Sources said, a review of whether the seized items have been properly stored in the malkhanas or not is not done regularly and properly by the police. Besides, there are allegations that a section of police officials are involved in having these items vanished from the storerooms in order to shield the accused.
There are several instances of seized items missing from police stations in the recent past.
Sources said, in May 2014, an SUV had gone missing from Jagatpur police station. During inquiry it was found that a home guard of the police station was the mastermind behind the disappearance of the SUV. A case was also registered against five persons, including the home guard.
A similar incident occurred at the police station of government railway police (GRP). The GRP had seized seven quintals of ganja from the platform of the city railway station May 7 this year. However, the huge quantum of ganja went missing from the police station the next day, it was learnt.
Following the incident, the in-charge of the GRP police station was transferred. The two incidents indicate that how some policemen were behind the disappearance of confiscated items from police stations.
Retired DGP Gopal Chandra Nanda said, “Senior officials should review the malkhanas regularly. A senior sub-inspector should be in charge of the malkhanas. The seized items are kept in an unsafe manner and the storerooms are not maintained properly, resulting in such incidents.”
In many cases, the seized items decay in the storeroom. Consequently, the accused go scot-free due to lack of evidence. Earlier, the police stations did not have storerooms. However, now it is being set up at police stations, Nanda added.
DCP Akhileswar Singh said, “I have not received any such complaints so far. If I get any complaint, action will be initiated against the storeroom in charge and inspector in charge. If needed, the cost of the missing items will be recovered from the officials concerned.”
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