Bhubaneswar: In many recent instances of the commissionerate police producing arrested people in courts, ropes rather than handcuffs are seen keeping the hands of the accused tied. That is because many of the handcuffs in possession of some police stations in the state capital are in need of repair.
While ropes have not altogether replaced the familiar restraining device made of metal that instantly evokes images of police, officials at several police stations prefer ropes to defunct handcuffs that run risks of malfunctioning. Sources said the use of ropes to tie the hands of the accused while taking them to courts for production before judges began a few months ago when a considerable number of handcuffs were deemed unreliable due to years of wear and tear.
Nayapalli police had arrested four miscreants a few days back in connection with an alleged abduction. A case (24/15) was registered against the four accused. When the four men were taken to a court here, their hands were seen tied with ropes. “Most handcuffs present at Nayapalli police station are in a need of repair,” said a police official.
Sources said the diary control officer of Nayapalli police station was strictly asked by the inspector-in-charge to take special caution and care while producing the four accused in court since ropes were used instead of the customary and more reliable handcuffs. “In this particular case, the fear that the accused may attempt to run away and may succeed appeared more real due to the ropes,” said an official at Nayapalli police station.
Senior officials of the commissionerate police, however, denied that there is any shortage of handcuffs at the police stations in the state capital. Handcuffs that have become defunct and need repair, they said, are routinely discarded and new handcuffs take their place.
“We do not have any shortage of handcuffs. Police stations that need new handcuffs can take them from the reserve police office here,” said Bhubaneswar DCP Satyabrata Bhoi to Orissa POST.
