Kolkata Police Ordered to Enforce Outstanding Arrest Warrants Ahead of Elections
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Kolkata, April 14 (NationPress) As the two-phase Assembly elections approach, the Kolkata Police have mandated all police stations within their jurisdiction to act swiftly on outstanding arrest warrants against offenders. Lalbazar, the headquarters of the Kolkata Police, has emphasized the urgency of this directive, instructing that individuals with outstanding warrants must be apprehended or that updates on the actions taken against them should be reported back to Lalbazar, as stated by a senior official on Tuesday.
The Election Commission had previously issued a stern directive regarding the enforcement of non-bailable arrest warrants. In line with this, Lalbazar has reiterated similar instructions. Furthermore, police stations are required to report on actions related to both non-bailable and bailable warrants.
Lalbazar has urged police stations to prioritize all unexecuted warrants and, in instances where no action has been taken, they must compile a list of these pending warrants. Concurrently, law enforcement personnel are reminded to adhere strictly to their duties, as there have been instances of non-compliance with government regulations. Lalbazar’s message is clear: all must adhere to the rules.
After Supratim Sarkar took on the role of Kolkata Police Commissioner, he introduced a set of 15 guidelines regarding police personnel's conduct on social media. However, following the introduction of the model code of conduct for the Assembly elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) replaced Supratim Sarkar with Ajay Nand as the new Commissioner of Kolkata Police. The updated guidelines stress compliance with the previous rules established by Supratim Sarkar concerning social media.
Recently, the Commission issued a set of directives for lower-ranking police officials, specifically highlighting non-bailable warrants. It was mandated that those with active non-bailable warrants should be arrested within a span of 10 days. Additionally, there is an emphasis on swiftly concluding all criminal cases initiated during the last elections. It is noted that during the election period, all state government employees operate under the ECI's authority, thus the poll body retains the power to take action against them.