Police plan to checkmate robbery

They have laid bare an action plan that, to our mind, is more reactive perhaps than proactive. The steps that the police have decided to take are basically aimed at making the robbers' job more difficult; but we do not yet know when the law enforcers are going to launch a direct assault on them, many of whom are well- identified criminals and residents of the city. The general belief is that police can bring about a perceptible change in the situation by arresting the known criminals in a week or so.

However, making life harder for the robbers should also be part of the overall strategy of curbing crime. Police should be able to plug a gaping hole if the cellular companies cooperate with them by verifying the addresses of phone users and thus precluding the possibility of anybody getting a phone by giving a false address. This is important because the device is allegedly being used widely by criminals in their operations these days. The idea of checking rickshaws and vehicles after 2:00 at night might also help restrict the movement of criminals.

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But we believe that the whole plan of countering robbery should be based on some preemptive actions like effective patrolling of roads and lanes and gathering intelligence on the criminals without any let-up.

The anti- crime drive is often publicised in a wrong way. The authorities should refrain from playing to the gallery while dealing with a matter as serious as law and order. If a deadline is set for arresting the criminals, it has to be met at any cost. Otherwise, questions regarding the sincerity and seriousness of the law enforcers will arise in the public mind. Unfortunately, the deadlines have never been met, and the truth is that the mysteries behind the recent bank robberies are still unresolved. So there is a noticeable gap between rhetoric and reality; and bridging this gap should be the government's prime concern at the moment.