Steady rise in Steel City’s crime graph 

ROURKELA: The law and order situation in the Steel City seems to be spiralling out of control with a spurt in criminal activities recently. Heinous crimes including murder and loot in quick successions over the last three weeks have sent shock waves in the city leaving the residents in a state of panic.

On December 14, the wife of a silver ornament wholesaler was shot at while her son escaped narrowly at Vedvyas. Four days later on December 18 night, three miscreants shot dead a young salesman of a jewellery shop on STI road over bridge and looted `20 lakh worth of ornaments from him. 

Earlier on December 4, a butcher tied an employee of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) to an electric post in front of his house at Tilkangar slum and beat him in full public glare leading to his death two days later. The RSP employee’s only fault was he delayed payment of `2,800 for mutton taken on credit. 

On December 19, a railway porter was found murdered at Bondamunda. Two days back, ornaments worth around `15 lakh were stolen from a businessman’s house at Civil Township. On December 14, a gold chain worth `1 lakh was snatched from a woman at Basanti Colony and the next day, `1 lakh was looted from a man at a fuel station at Bisra Square. 

In most cases, the culprits have been arrested or identified but it has failed to restore the public faith in police. On Wednesday, the government transferred the incumbent Rourkela SP K Shiva Subramni to Dhenkanal. 

Rourkela Bar Association (RBA) president and former chairman of the erstwhile Rourkela municipality Ramesh Chandra Bal said during the 15-month tenure of SP Subramani, the police and public relationship dipped abysmally and crime graph rose. 

“The RBA was seeking Subramani’s replacement with an efficient officer since long. The government should urgently implement the pending proposal of Commissionerate police system in Rourkela,” Bal added.DIG of Police (Western Range) Kabita Jalan declined to comment on the law and order scenario in the city.