To curb rising crime graph in state, trade body and police form ‘PACT’

Ranchi: The Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FJCCI), the apex trade body in the state, on Monday announced to set up closed-knit WhatsApp groups at police station levels to curb instances of rising crime in the city and elsewhere in the state.
FJCCI and police named the initiative Police and Chamber Together (PACT) which will forge an alliance between the business body and the police to exchange information in their respective areas to avert any untoward incidents, officials said.
Talking to TOI, FJCCI’s law and order sub-committee chairman, Praveen Lohia, said PACT was first rolled out in 2008 but became defunct after 2012. “We have now decided to revive it to help the police improve the law and order both in Ranchi and other districts,” he said.
Lohia also said they will begin PACT from Ranchi in the first phase. In the second phase, groups will be set up at district and zonal levels.
“According to the plan, which was also discussed with senior officials of the Ranchi police, we will form police station-level WhatsApp groups in another week or 10 days. The groups will work as an intermediary for raising alerts, informing police about suspicious events and providing tip-offs among others. Information plays a crucial role in averting crime. Our aim will be to help police with timely information of any suspicious events in a particular area so that they can take control,” Lohia said.
Notably, traders have also become targets of criminal groups. On October 21, a plywood shop owner, Saurav Sabu, was shot at in broad daylight while he was at his shop in the Upper Bazar area of the city. Two days back, police held three persons in connection with the crime.
On October 1, a 35-year-old businessman was shot dead by criminals in Dhanbad. In May this year, a businessman identified as Kamal Bhushan was shot dead under the Pandra police station area. In June, a 50-year-old businessman was shot dead outside his residence in Adityapur under the Seraikela-Kharsawan police station.
A police officer welcomed the move and said, “As part of social policing, we have been promoting different initiatives to connect with the masses who can become our eyes and ears to control crime.”