10 Sep :Sikkim has become the first state to enforce a model police act for regulating the functioning of the force in the country on the direction of the Supreme Court.The Sikkim Police Act, 2008, formulated on the basis of the model police act drafted by the Union Home Ministry, came into effect from September five, an official release said on Wednesday.
A fixed tenure of two years for the director general of police, superintendent of police and in-charges of police stations was the main feature of the Act, it said.The Police Accountability Commission has been set up under the chairmanship of retired chief justice of the Sikkim High Court R K Patra.
The commission would enquire into public complaints against police officers for serious misconduct (death in custody, rape, grievous hurt and arrest without due process of law), the release said.
The complaints against policemen should be accompanied by a sworn statement by the complainants.The commission has been empowered to perform the functions of the State Human Rights Commission listed under section 12 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 and make suitable recommendations to the government, it said.
The act also provides for setting up of a state police board under the chairmanship of the chief minister to frame policies for evaluation of performance and functional autonomy of the police forces as per the provisions of the act, the release said.
It mandates strategic police plan and annual police plan to be placed before the state legislature every year and the same to be made readily accessible to the general public. DDINEWS