Informing this to the media today, Crime Branch Special DG BK Sharma said the team, led by a DSP, would leave for Koraput tomorrow with a forensic expert team for an on-the-spot probe.
“The team would probe into various aspects including the manner and circumstances of the blast and the explosives used for detonation,” he added.
Sharma further said that the team, apart from its probe, would also collect information from the eyewitnesses and those who had escaped the blast.
The explosion took place near Mungarbhumi on Sunki Ghat, barely one km from Andhra Pradesh border in the Maoist-affected Koraput district.
The incident took place when 13 OSAP personnel, mostly police drivers, were on their way to Cuttack in a truck for training. The seriously injured personnel were rushed to the district headquarters hospital in Koraput and another hospital in Visakhapatanam.
Meanwhile, State Havildar and Constable Association president Prashant Mohapatra blamed senior police officials for the incident alleging that the standard operation procedure during movement of security personnel in sensitive areas are not followed properly for which the Maoists succeeded in carrying out the landmine blast. Like senior police officials, the OSAP Jawans should be allowed to move in private vehicles in sensitive areas.
On the other hand, DIG (South Western range) S Saini said human rights activists should raise their voice against killing of innocent police personnel by Maoists.
The arrested man has been identified as Santosh Singh alias Santu Singh.
Briefing media persons here, Ramesh Panigrahi, DSP, said as per preliminary investigation, Santu was involved in gun peddling for a long time and used to sell country-made guns, revolvers and sharp weapons in Rourkela and its nearby areas after purchasing them from neighbouring Jharkhand.
“After police got the information, a team of Bandhamunda police raided the house of Santu this morning and seized three country-made revolvers, 14 live cartridges, four knives, four swords, nine ATM cards and cash worth Rs 2 lakh from his possession,” he said, adding that the police is on the lookout for the two associates of Santu, involved in the case.
Panigrahi also said the police is investigating if the arrested Railway staff was also involved in tender fixing.
DySP Ganapathy had died at Madikeri in Karnataka under mysterious circumstances on July 7 last year.
A bench, comprising Justices A K Goel and U U Lalit, allowed the appeal of M K Kushalapp, father of the deceased police officer, filed against the order of the Karnataka High Court rejecting his plea for CBI probe into the death case.
"There are certain startling facts in the case. Whether it is murder or suicide, it is required to be investigated in a fair manner," the bench said.
It asked the CBI to file a status report on the probe before it within 3 months.
The top court said it was neither determining the nature of the offence, nor the fact as to who are guilty.
"But public confidence and societal requirement demand that the guilty persons must be reached," the bench said while ordering the CBI probe into the matter.
The Karnataka government had opposed the plea in the apex court saying that a thorough and in-depth probe had been conducted in the case.
It was claimed in the appeal that before the death, the police officer had accused Bengaluru city development minister K J George and senior officers A M Prasad and Pranab Mohanty of harassing him.
The bench considered the allegations and said under these circumstances, the probe should be carried out by an independent agency.
Senior lawyer Kapil Sibal, representing the state government, opposed the plea and said the relevant materials could be submitted in the court to establish that the probe has been conducted fairly.
Another senior advocate A M Singhvi, who represented George, argued that the police officer was suffering from depression and had undergone treatment.
Senior lawyer Jayant Bhushan, appearing for the father of the deceased, said the state CID had probed the matter and filed the closure report without getting the forensic report.
The probe cannot be conducted by a state agency when former Home Minister and two senior officers are under the scanner, he alleged.
The vacancy rate in 2019 is hovering at around 38 per cent of the sanctioned cadre strength for the State. Odisha has around 71 vacancies now vis-a-vis the total sanctioned cadre strength of 188 IPS posts. No state in the country, including Maoist or terrorist affected states, display such a high rate.
What looks scary is the situation is going to worsen by 2020, because, the present in-position IPS strength would shrink to below 100 by then from 109 now. The reason: Around 9 more retirements are due by 2020, informed a highly placed source in the State home department.
The scenario has turned acute not because the direct IPS recruit size in Odisha over the years has fallen, but for non-filing of the promotion quota to IPS cadre from the State police services. The promotion-quota vacancies have grown over the years. The vacancies now are 57 vis-a-vis of 48 in 2010. And the reason: Non-availability of appropriate officers at the DSP level in Odisha for graduating to IPS cadre.
Why the situation has come to such a pass? The answer is not far to seek. An inspector-level official after rising to DSP level via promotion have to fulfill the condition of a minimum 8-yr long stint at DSP level in order to qualify to the IPS cadre. However, what was witnessed is by then he/she is well past the maximum age-limit of 54 years - the age bar to become eligible for promotion to IPS level.
What's the way out? Odisha Government could tide over the enormity by transferring its promotion quota to the Centre for making direct recruits, and when State would become capable to bring in its promotion-quota, it could re-align the cadre vacancies then, explained a senior official.
What is the fallout of the IPS vacancy on law and order machinery? State government has brought in ‘ex-cadre’ or SDR (State Deputation Reserve) postings to such cutting-edge level posts, which play vital role in crime volume control, direction and supervision in State.
It is well known that an officer on deputation could bend to any extent when the powers-that-be wish so, observed a senior Home Department official. He informed that against the authorised strength of SDR totalling over 21, the in-position men stood at around 30 now. Moreover, when the norm is SDR men can hold the office for only 2-years only, some are still enjoying their postings beyond the prescribed time-period.
"I express my heartfelt gratitude to the Honourable Chief Minister @sarbanandsonwal sir and the Honourable Finance Minister of Assam @himantabiswa sir for having offering me the post of Deputy Superintendent of Police in recognition of my achievements and motivating me and countless budding sportspersons to strive for medal winning performance.
"Today I reaffirm my commitment to push my limits and excel in the upcoming Games and bring laurel to Assam and Bharat (sic.)," said Hima in a series of tweets.
https://twitter.com/HimaDas8/status/1235926423392497664
Hima's road to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics has, however, been hampered by a back injury which also led to her giving the 2019 Athletics World Championships a miss.
(IANS)