Finally, investigation bureau takes shape

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, April 10

Five years after it was conceptualised, the separate police wing — Punjab Bureau of Investigation (PBI) — finally took shape with officers being posted following Election Commission’s nod.

The EC has now conveyed no objection to the issue of posting orders of 269 police officers. Last month in March 10 following a report in The Tribune that the Punjab Police top brass created posts for newly promoted DSP-ranked officers and ordered their posting without the EC nod. Following this, the officers were ordered not to join their postings.

On Tuesday these officers were told to join their new postings. However, many such DSPs have now been posted in districts “without any infrastructure or defined duties” while some do not even have an office.

The new postings are against posts like crime against property, crime against women and children, major crimes, criminal groups, emergency response system, command centre, special branch and criminal intelligence, cyber and forensic, financial, technical support etc. “The SP headquarters need 15 constables and other lower-rung officials to accommodate one such DSP and sparing them against each post. It is a tough call as already staff is busy with election duty,” said an officer.

Initially planned during the SAD-BJP tenure, the road was cleared for the separate wing in 2017. Under the proposal, the law and order machinery has been separated from the investigation wing and specialised crime investigation units established in every district. These units will be headed by an officer not below the rank of inspector with an appropriate strength of officers and staff for investigating such categories of specialised crime as may be deemed appropriate.

The move is prompted by the need to keep the function of investigation separate from law and order duties so that investigation of heinous crimes, in particular, does not get hindered due any urgency in law and order duties.

However, a section of senior officers said the separate wings would curtail the powers of the district police chiefs who would only “restrict their role to law and order duty” while the investigation wing independently report to its own seniors.