Guwahati, Jul 25, 2024, IANS

Guwahati, July 25 (IANS) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed on Thursday that the state police force has been strengthened and the case pendency rate has been reduced by at least four-fold in the last three years. According to the Chief Minister, in 2021, 95,994 cases were pending in Assam, which dropped drastically to 18,286 cases in 2024. The burden of cases for each investigating officer has also lowered. In 2021, there were 52 cases per investigating officer in the police department which has come down to 7.39 cases as of June 2024. In a post on X, Sarma said, “Due to our modernisation efforts, the average number of cases an investigating officer of @assampolice looks after has significantly come down, reducing their burden and improving the quality of investigation." “This has resulted in a drastic reduction in case pendency, benefiting a large section of the society,” he added. The state government has taken several steps in the last three years to bring an overall change in the state police force. The Body Mass Index (BMI) calculation for all officers and staff in the police department was introduced last year to make the police force more fit. CM Sarma had earlier instructed that if any policeman is found intoxicated during duty hours, he will be immediately dismissed from service. “Police should always behave in a responsible manner so that citizens feel comfortable while coming to the police stations,” he had said.