Police HQ ready with alternate plan

PATNA: With many police officers contracting Covid-19, the state police headquarters has chalked out contingency plans to deal with leadership crisis in districts.
In one such example, the SP of a district neighbouring Patna was tested positive for Covid-19. Later, the sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) of the district, who was at the helm of the police force, also tested positive. Earlier, SSP of a north Bihar district had also tested positive for Covid-19.
ADG (headquarters) Jitendra Kumar said the police headquarters is prepared with a plan to handle leadership crisis in districts.
“In case of such situations, senior officers like IG and DIG at the range level would guide the subordinates posted in districts to handle additional charge,” the ADG said, adding that when the SP of the north Bihar district was tested positive, the City SP handled the district under IG’s guidance.
The ADG said in case of police stations located in containment zones, the SP or SSP concerned would have to establish a temporary police station. “The senior most police officer in the district would make temporary deployment in case all police personnel of a police station getting infected or quarantined due to Covid-19,” he said.
Kumar said the SP of the district neighbouring Patna has fully recovered. “Till now, 258 police personnel have tested positive for Covid-19 in the state. Of them, 163 have recovered while one had died,” he added.