(c) Other Sources of Revenue, State and
Central
The
revenues of India were classified into Indian Provincial and Divided heads
until 1920 when, following the introduction of the Montage-Chelmasford Reforms,
the divided heads were abolished and a complete separation took place between
the Central and Provincial revenues. From that time, two types of revenues,
viz. Central and Provincial (now State), have been current in the country.
(i)
Other Sources of State Revenue :- The other sources of State revenue, besides
the land revenue are : Stamp Duty, Registration Fee, Excise Tax, Urban
Immovable Property Tax, Sales Tax, Passengers and Goods Tax, Entertainment Tax,
Entertainment Duty, Central Sales Tax,
Electricity Duty and Copying Fee.
Stamp Duty :- The Indian Stamp Act (No.
II) of 1899 came into force on 1 July 1899. It was amended by the Punjab Act
VIII of 1922. The second amendment was
made by the Indian Stamp (Punjab Second Amendment) Act (No. 34) of 1960.
Stamp
revenue (duty) is derived from the sale of non-judicial or revenue stamps.
The
judicial or count-fee stamps are sold under the Court Fee Act, 1870. This Act
requires the Collector (Deputy Commissioner) to ensure that the documents are
properly stamped according to the schedule.
The income
realized in the Firozpur District from the sale of judicial or court-fee stamps
and non-judicial or revenue stamps during 1972-73 to 1979-80 is as under :
Year Judicial stamps Non-Judicial Total
or or
court-fee revenue
stamps stamps
Rs. Rs. Rs.
1972-73 5,01,00,058 12,76,934
5,13,76,992
1973-74 64,44,876 7,97,408
72,42,284
1974-75 88,30,740
7,35,923 95,66,663
1975-76 87,75,953 7,81,664
95,57,617
Year Judicial stamps Non-Judicial Total
or or
court-fee revenue
stamps stamps
Rs.
Rs. Rs.
1976-77 90,62,367 9,08,612 99,70,979
1977-78 2,40,62,276 9,43,957 2,50,06,233
1978-79 1,89,64,985 14,32,631 2,03,97,616
1979-80 2,04,42,264 14,04,646 2,18,46,910
(Source
: Treasury Officer, Firozpur )
Registration Fee :- Under the Indian
registration Act (XVI) of 1908, compulsory registration is required in the case
of all documents pertaining to immovable property, and optional registration is
provided for other documents. Documents
which fulfil the prescribed requirements and for which the required stamp duty
and registration fee are paid are registered. The chief items of receipts
collected by the Registration
Department are with respect to the registration of documents, the making or granting of copies, the searching
of registers and the authentication of powers of attorney. The State Government have exempted or
partially exempted the levying of the registration free with respect to (i) the documents pertaining
to societies registered under the Co-operative Societies Act and Land Mortgage
Banks, (ii) the mortgage deeds executed by government servants with respect to
advances for house-building, (iii) encumbrance certificates issued in
connection with the loans under the Agriculturists’ Loans Act.
The Inspector-General of Registration, Punjab, is the head of the
Registration Department at the State level, with headquarters at Jalandhar. At the
district level, the Deputy Commissioner is the Registrar who supervises the
registration work in the District. He is assisted by 3 tehsildars as
sub-registrars, one in each of the 3 tehsils. Three naib-tehsildars are also
assisting the tehsildars in the tehsils. The registration work in Jalalabad,
Abohar, Guru Har Sahai and Dharamkot sub-tehsils is done by the naib-tehsildars
as joint sub-registrars. The State Government is authorized to appoint any Cantonment magistrate joint
sub-registrar temporarily. The subdivisional officer (civil) in a tehsil is the
ex-officio inspector of registration and he undertakes the registration work
only when the regular sub-registrar is on leave or away from the headquarters.
He also inspects the work of the sub-registrar and of the joint sub-registrar
twice a year. The sub-registrar and the
joint sub-registrar do registration work in addition to their own
duties and, thus, get honorarium @ Rs.
50 and Rs. 35 per mensem respectively.
The
sub-registrars the documents pertaining to the properties situated within his
jurisdiction. The registrar is, however, empowered to register any document from any tehsil of the District. The
registrar hears appeals and applications preferred to him under sections 72 and
73 of the Indian Registration Act (XVI) of 1908 against refusal to register
documents by the sub-registrars under him.
The
following statement shows the numbers of registered documents, the value of
property transferred and receipts in the District, from 1972-73 to 1979-80:
Excise Tax :- For the implementation of the Excise and Taxation Acts, the
District is under the control of the Assistant Excise and Taxation
Commissioner, Firozpur, who is assisted by 10 excise and taxation officer, 17 taxation
inspectors, 2 district excise inspectors and 8 excise Inspector, besides the
staff of other categories. The District falls under the jurisdiction of the
Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Firozpur Division, Firozpur.
The State and Central Excise Acts enforced in the
State are :
The
Punjab Excise Act, 1914 : The Punjab Local Option Act, 1923; The Dangerous
Drugs Act, 1930; The Molasses Control Act, 1948;
The
India Power Alcohol Act, 1948; and The
Medicinal and Toilet Preparations (Excise Duties)Act, 1955.
Sales Tax :- The sales tax is levied under the Punjab General Sales Tax Act,
1948, which repealed the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1941, on 1 May 1948.
Passengers and Goods Tax :- This tax has been levied under the Punjab
Passengers and Goods Tax Act, 1952, with effect from 1 September 1952, on all
fares and freights with respect to passengers carried and goods transported in
motor-vehicles in the Punjab. The rate of tax has been enhanced from time to
time. Since 6 April 1978, the rate of tax has been 35 per cent of the are and
freight. In the same year, the annual rate of tax per truck was Rs. 1,050 in
the plains.
Entertainment Tax :- The Punjab
Entertainments Tax (Cinematography Show) Act, 1954, came into force on 4 May
1954. The tax is levied for every show on the number of occupied seats of a
cinema. The Act provides that the tax shall not exceed Rs. 150 per show in any
case and shall be charged proportionately for a fraction of 100 seats.
Entertainments Duty :- The Punjab Entertaiments Duty Act, 1955,
repealed the Punjab Entertainments Duty Act, 1936, with effect from 4 November
1955. The rates of duty are changed from time to time. According to Notification no. S.O.23/P.A. 16/55/53/78, dated 3 May 1978, the rate of
entertainments duty, including that on complementary tickets, shall be 125 per
cent of the payment for admission to any entertainments to which to persons are
ordinarily admitted on payment.
Central Sales Tax
:- The Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, which came
into force in January 1957, provides for the levying of tax on sales effected
in the course of inter-State trade and commerce. The States have been
authorised to administer this tax on behalf of the Government of India. The
entire collections are appropriated by the States.
Electricity Duty :- The Punjab
Electricity (Duty) Act, 1958, was enforced on 1 April 1958. The duty was levied
to meet the additional financial burdens undertaken by the State on account of
the introduction of free education and provincialization of the schools of local bodies. The duty is levied
on the energy supplied by the Punjab State Electricity Board to a consumer or a
licensee and it is collected by the Board along with the bills for the energy
supplied.
Copying Fee :- The copying fee is levied under the Punjab Copying Fees Act,
1936. Copies of orders, etc. are supplied to the public on ordinary and urgent
bases, the charges for which are s. 2.25 and 4.25 respectively. Copies on
ordinary basis are to be supplied in seven days, whereas those on urgent basis
are to be supplied within 24 hours.
The
collection from the above mentioned taxes in the Firozpur District during
1972-73 to 1979-80 are shown in the following statement :
(ii) Central Sources of Revenue
Central Excise Duties :- The Assistant
Collector, Central Excise, Patiala,m is in charge of the Central Excise Patiala
Divisional, Patiala, which comprises the Faridkot, Firozpur, Sangrur, Patiala
and Bathinda districts. The Firozpur District is under the supervision of the
Superintendent, Central Excise, Moga, who supervises one sector office of the
Firozpur District, located at Abohar. The sector office is looked after by the
Inspector, Central Excise, Abohar.
The
main sources of the central excise duty in the District are: cellulosic spun
yarn, non-cellulosic spun yarn, fancy yarn, gold-dealers, etc.
The
Acts, under which the duty is collected, are; The Central Excise and Salt Act,
1944; The Produce Cess Act, 1966; The Khadi and other Handloom Industries
Development (Additional Excise Duty on Cloth) Act, 1953. The Cotton Fabrics
(Additional Excise Duty) Act, 1957, and the Additional duty of Excise (Goods of
Special Importance) Act, 1957.
Income Tax :- It is levied under the Income Tax Act, 1961, which replaced the
India Income Tax Act, 1922, on 1 April 1962. This tax is the best possible
equitable means of distributing the burden of Government expenditure. Income,
above a certain specified level and subject to certain exemptions, is taxed at
a progressive rate. The income tax is
levied in accordance with the rates specified in the Finance Act of the
relevant year passed by Parliament.
Wealth Tax :- It is levied under the Wealth Tax Act, 1957. it is chargeable on
the net wealth of an individual and a Hindu undivided family.
Gift Tax :- The tax is levied under the Gift Tax Act, 1958, on all gifts made
after the date of the enforcement of the Act (i.e. 1 April 1958), if the total
value of the gift (moveable or immovable) exceeds the limit specified by the
Finance Act passed by Parliament in a particular year.
Estate Duty :- The Estate Duty Act, 1953, was enforced on 15 October 1953. The
duty is leviable on the states of persons dying after this date. For the
levying of the estate duty, the Firozpur District falls under the jurisdiction
of the Assistant Controller of Estate Duty, Patiala.
Year Central Income Wealth Gift Estate
excise tax
tax tax duty
duties
Rs. Rs. Rs.
Rs. Rs.
1975-76 6,01,047 -- -- --
1,42,000
1976-77 6,73,480 51,06,000
2,20,000 36,000 --
1977-78 19,88,493 76,39,000
2,58,000 44,000 3,28,000
1978-79 57,99,255 84,57,000
6,99,000 38,000 3,12,000
1979-80 99,58,049 87,39,000
4,49,000 50,000 3,75,000
(Source :
Superintendent, Central Jail Excise Moga; Income Tax Officer, Firozpur and
Assistant Controller of Estate Duty, Jalandhar)
(a)
Incidence of Crime in District
The
Firozpur District present inherently typical feature, which have a rational
bearing on the intrinsic assessment and appreciation of the prevailing state of
crime. The close proximity of Pakistan affords ample opportunities to the criminal to the criminal elements to indulge
in “hit-and-run” tactics with impunity.
This District, which is notoriously criminal, abounds in party factions, blood
feuds and extremely impulsive, violent and revengeful outlook among the rural
folk, indicating a complete negation of the spirit of “forgive and forget”.
To
some extent, smuggling exists on all land borders thourghout the world. In the
beginning, it was considered a normal corollary of the partition of the
country. In early stages, smuggling could be tolerated because it was on a very small scale and was
only confined to articles of daily household use. the unscrupulous businessman
at a stage was tempted to make profit out of it. he availed himself of the
services of those who could risk their
lives in crossing to the other side, by stages, from the exchange of cloth and other items of minor
importance, the racket developed into the smuggling of gold from across the
border in exchange for the currency from this side. This illicit trade assumed
great dimensions in 1956, when on account of
administrative laxity on the other side of the border, their currency
started depreciating in value and our
currency started appreciating. Unscrupulous elements on both sides started
exploiting this difference in value, and the foreign gold, which was being
smuggled into Pakistan, started being smuggled into India in exchange for out
currency, which was held at a premium in the international money market and was
being smuggled out of India. There was no doubt that smuggling was going on,
but, in 1957, political parties started making capital out of it. In June 1957,
a regular campaign was started against smuggling and smugglers.
The
District is notorious for illicit distillation and for the smuggling of opium
from across the border. Special campaigns are launched by the District police
at short intervals to curb the activities
of distillers, boot-leggers and the moonshiners.
The
inhabitants of the District are also very fond of keeping arms and, sometimes,
even undesirable elements succeed in getting licences. Hunger for illicit arms
is also quite common in the District. The District Police recovers illicit
weapons, and the frequent screening of licences also helps to keep the law and
order situation under control.
The
work of the police has been rendered further difficult as a result of certain
political changes and the abolition of non-official agencies, such as honorary
magistrates, zaildars and sufaidposhs. They in the previous regime,
strong pillars of administration and the abolition of these agencies deprived
the police administration of an
important support in its work in the rural areas. With the abolition of zildars
and sufaidposhs, the morale of the lambardars and chowkidars also has gone very
low and they no longer either the old status or the confidence of their co-villagers. Consequent upon the establishment of the
Panchayat Raj in the Punjab, the
sarpanches and panches are expected to play their full part in day-to-day work
of the administration and in the maintenance of law and order.
Number of reported cases relating cases relating to
various crimes in the Firozpur District during 1974-80
Year
Head
of crime --------------------------------------------------
1974
1975 1976 1977
1978 1979 1980
1.All crimes (class 906
980 981 1,034 952 752 835
I
to VI)
2. Murders 63
61 47 62 59 47 64
3. Dacoity 1
-- -- -- --
-- --
4. robberies 3 2 4 3 1
-- 4
5. Burglaries 105 110
116 145 117 87 73
6. Riots -- 1 3 5 2 1 --
7. Thefts 145 185 141 158 153 107 132
8. Cattle-lifting 11 9
10 7 -- 4 5
9. Traffic in Women -- -- -- -- -- -- --
10. Cheating 20 23
21 30 27 17 27
11. Offences under 4,338 4,246
4,348 4,719 5,205
5,804 6,571
12.
Motor-vehicle 52 59 48 45 59 73 63
(Source : Senior
Superintendent of Police,Firozpur)
Murder :- Murder, a dreadful crime, is the brutal way
of quenching one’s thirst for one’s enemy’s blood. Personal enmities, blood
feuds, disputes over land and water and sex relations mainly account for the
commission of this crime. There are no set motives or circumstances, under the
influence of which the criminals resort to this type of crime. It varies with
individuals, their education and other environments. Timely preventive action,
at times, acts as a useful and healthy safeguard against this crime. Mostly, this crime results from sudden
disputes, domestic troubles and sex relations. In such cases, any kind of
vigilance of preventive action will not have any deterrent effect. Uneducated
people attach no value to human life and they chop off the heads of one another
like fodder at the slightest provocation under the lust for revenge. To satisfy the human instinct of blood for
blood, the aggrieved party resorts to
direct actions and the murders multiply. Once the game is started, its chain of revengeful actions often continues
for decades, despite strict surveillance by the local police. The rural areas of
the Firozpur District are predominantly inhabited by Rai Sikhs, Bisnois and jat
Sikhs who have no regard for public justice. They, by tradition, get excited
over-trifling matters and resort to this heinous crime at the slightest
provocation. The fact that Firozpur is a border district provides these
criminals with an easy chance to dispose of
the corpses and also offer them a good chance of escape from the
clutches of law .
Dacoity :- When five or persons conjointly commit or attempt to commit a
robbery, or when all the persons conjointly committing or attempting to commit
a robbery, and the persons present and aiding such commission or attempt, are
five or more , every person so
committing, attempting or aiding, is said to commit dacoity. So a
dacoity is a robbery committed by five or more persons. It is a more serious offence than robbery
because of the terror caused by the presence of a number of offenders. The
preparation to commit dacoity is also an offence. Vigorous patrolling at dusk by the anti-dacoity staff in the
affected areas and the cancellation arms licences of undesirable persons have
proved to be greatly effective in bringing the crime under this head to normal.
Rubbery :- Extensive patrolling at
dusk and frequent naka bandis in the affected areas and the grant of arms to
the public have brought the crime under this head under control.
Burglary :- There was much fluctuation in the incidence
of burglary in the District during 1974-80. The proportion of untraced burglary cases is no doubt high,
but there are certain factors which prove detrimental to the successful investigation of these cases. It is a common
experience in the rural areas and even in cities that when a burglar takes
place, the people from the neighbourhood gather on the spot aimlessly as if a
tamasha (a game) is being held there. In their anxiety to show lip sympathy to
the victims, they obliterate all the possible clues which the culprits may have
left at the place of the crime. In some cases, the complainants lay suspicions on innocent persons on account of their
personal enmity or disputes. Vigorous efforts are made to bring the situation
under control. Patrolling by the police at dusk, the enforcement of preventive
actions under sections 109/110/Cr.P.C, thikri pehra, the rounding up of
untraced bad characters and their
thorough interrogation, intelligent investigation and successful prosecutions
have kept the incidence of burglary in the District under control.
Rioting :- Riot is the use of force for violence by an unlaful assembly of
five or more persons or by any member thereof in the prosecution of the common object of that assembly. Personal
rivalries and disputes over property
and women are the main causes of riots, generally occurring in rural areas. A
monetary submission to impulse at times takes such a violent turn that even preventive action has no deterrent effect.
The lapse of time cool down passions, after which parties patch up their
differences. With the result that conviction under this head is poor.
Theft :- whoever, intending to take dishonestly and movable property out
of the possession of any person without that person’s consent and taking it
away, is said to commit theft . There was fluctuation in the incidence of theft in the District during 1974
to 1980. The incidence of theft ranged
between 322 (in 1960) and 332 (in
1970). Thefts in rural areas o the District are few because, firstly, the
village abadis are small and the
inhabitants know each other and, secondly, the rural population is generally
well off. The patrolling at dusk and systematic naka bandis on the strategic points are mainly
responsible for keeping this crime under effective control.
Cattle-lifting :- The incidence of crime under cattle-lifting predominates in the
rural areas, when people generally keep their animals in their fields in the
rainy season. The villagers generally remain busy in agricultural operations
and do not pay proper attention to keep watch over their animals. In daytime,
the cattle generally graze in the jungle and the menials, who are deputed to
graze them do not take much interest in looking after them because they are
paid low wages. The cattle often go astray and cross to the Pakistan territory.
Moreover, in the rural areas, it is quite convenient for a cattle thief to
drive away the stolen cattle at night without
any fear of detection.
Traffic in Women :- Although a majority of the cases falling
under this head come under the definition of kidnapping or abduction are, in
fact, elopements climaxed by
uninhibited love affairs resulting in the lovers flight.
Cheating :- Simple-minded people are
cheated by the lure of getting their
money doubled or by the false promises of enabling them to buy landed property.
The changing of brass into gold, obtaining of fertilizers by forging the signatures of others, etc.
are the methods adopted by the cheat.
So long as the people do not pull themselves out of the materialistic concept of life, this offence
is not expected to vanish altogether because cheats have developed the tendency
to become rich by deceiving
simple-minded persons.
Offences under Local and Special Laws :- The crime under this head comprises cases of
public nuisance and those under the Indian Arms Act, 1878; the Punjab Excise
Act, 1914; the Opium Act, 1878; the
Public Gambling Act, 1867; the Essential Commodities Act, 1955; the Indian
Railways Act, 1890 and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.
Incidence of Motor Vehicle Accidents: - Besides the Indian
Motor Vehicles Act, 1939, sections 279, 337, 338 and 304-A of the Indian Penal
Code, the Punjab Municipal Act 1911, and the Municipal By-laws, the stage
Carriages Act XVI of 1861, the Police Act, 1888, Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals Act, XI of 1890, the Punjab
Motor Vehicle Taxation Act, 1925, the hackney Carriage Act, 1879, regulate the
road traffic.
Acts during 1974 to 1980 are given in the following statement :
Prosecutions launched under various Acts in the
Firozpur District during 1974-80
Year
Name
of the Act -------------------------------------------------------
1974
1975 1976 1977
1978 1979 1980
1. Indian Penal Code 1,897
1,740 1,905 2,095
2,135 1,592 1,616
2. Municipal Act and --
-- -- -- -- -- --
Municipal Bye-laws
3. State Carriage Act -- --
-- -- -- -- --
4. Police Act 140 155 -- 37 41 76 45
5. Prevention of Cru- -- --
1 -- -- -- --
elty to animal Act
6.Punjab Motor Vehic-
les Taxation Act 4,042 6,549
3,758 2,202 935
1,636 3,368
7.
Hackney Carriage Act -- -- -- -- --
-- --
(b) History
and Organization of Police
The
organization of the Police force in the Punjab in the modern sense of the term
start with the advent of the British in this part of the country. The police
administration was organized with the appointment of a separate officer at the district level, viz. the
Superintendent of Police. The policy system was reorganized from time to time
in accordance with the recommendations of the Police Commission of 1861, the Second
Police Commission of 1902, the Punjab
Provincial Committee of 1925 (which submitted its report in 1926), the Punjab
Police Commission of 1961, etc.
After
Independence, the European Officers in the police service left India. They
constituted a very large proportion of the superior services and their and
their places had to be filled up by the promotions from the ranks. Moreover,
Muslims who constituted about two-thirds of the police strength in the united
Punjab migrated to the Punjab
(Pakistant). The depleted police force had thus, the perform the gigantic task
of combating the unprecedented law-and-order problems which attended the
partition of the country and the mass
migration of the members of the communities from each side of the border.
Immediate steps were, however, taken to make up the serous deficiency in the
police force.
In
the context of the geographical location of the Firozpur District on the
Indo-Pak border, its strategic importance from the police point of view
cannot be over emphasized. The utmost
and unrelated police vigilance is required to be maintained for action against
spies, agents, saboteurs and smugglers from across the international border.
For
the purpose of police administration, the Firozpur District falls under the
charge of the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Firozpur Range, Firozpur. The
District Police is controlled by the
Senior Superintendent of Police, Firozpur, who is assisted by one
superintendent of police, 6 deputy superintendents of police, 10 inspectors, 40
sub-inspectors, 108 assistant sub-inspectors, 327 head constables and 1,582
constables. Besides, the village watchmen and chowkidars are in position in all
such villages as do not have any municipal or notified area committees. The
thikri pehra, on voluntary basis, is also carried out in the rural areas of the
District. This arrangement is of immense help in controlling the crime against
persons and property.
The
District has always been notorious for the high incidence of crime, both
against persons and property. The criminal administration of the District is
split up into various police-stations, each under the charge of an officer
known as the station house officer, who is ordinarily of the rank of a
sub-inspector.
The present
strength of the police in the District is given in the following statement :
Police Strength in the Firozpur District as on 31
March 1981
Senior Superin-
Deputy Inspec- Sub-
Assis- Head Const-
Super- tendents
Super- tors Inspe-
tant Const- ables
Inten- of Police inten-
ctors Sub- able
Dent of Pol- Insp-
Of ice ectors
Police
Civil Police
Permanent 1 1
4 8 37 88 239 1,305
Temporary -- -- 2
2 -- 18 73 149
Armed Police
Permanent -- -- --- -- 1
1 7 63
Temporary -- -- --
-- -- -- -- --
Mounted Police
Permanent -- -- -- -- 2
1 8 65
Temporary -- -- --
-- -- -- -- --
Prosecution Staff
Permanent -- -- --
-- -- -- --
--
Temporary -- -- --
-- -- -- --
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 1 1 6
10 40 108 327 1,582
(Source Senior Superintendent of Police, Firozpur)
The Number of Police-stations and
police posts in each tehsil subdivision, as on 31 March 1981, is given below :
Tehsil/Subdivision Number of village Police Stations Police-posts
Firozpur 470 1
City-Firozpur Railway
Colony,
Ferozepur
2.
Sadar Firozpur
3
Cantonment Canal Colony
Firozpur
4. Ghall Khurd
5. Mamdot
6.Guru Har Sahai
Tehsil/Subdivision Number
of village Police
Stations Police-posts
Zira 387 1. Zira City
Zira
2.
Dharmkot City Dharmkot
3.
Makhu Canalo
Colony,
Makhu
4.
Mallanwala
Fazlika 315 1. City Fazilka City
Jalalabad
2.
Sadar Fazlika Arniwala
3.
City Abohar
4.
Sadar Abohar
5 Khuyan Sarwar
6. Jalalabad
Civil Police :- Civil police is used for duty at the
police-stations. There are 16 police-stations and 7 police-posts in the
District. Each police-station is under
the charge of a police officer, known as the station house officer, assisted by
one or more assistant sub-inspectors, a head constable, a moharrir and a number
of constables, allocated to it. It is the duty of the station house officer to
maintain peace in his circle as well as to investigate offences occurring
within his jurisdiction.
Punjab Armed Police :- This force became permanent with effect
from 232 November 1948, and was named the ‘Provincial Armed Police’. It is kept
in the Reserve Police Lines and is posted for duty whenever and wherever any
contingency arises. it performs the escort duty for bringing prisoners from the
jail to the courts and taking them back. Armed policemen are also used as
guards at the government treasuries. They are also deputed for patrolling and
combating dacoits. In the District,
this force consists of 1 Sub-inspector, 1 assistant sub-inspector, 7 head
constables and 63 constables.
Mounted Police :- This force is
kept in the Reserve Police Lines and at different police-stations. It is used
to maintain law and order, to patrol roads, to round up dangerous gangs and to
disperse crowds. Its training is, in such circumstances, similar to that of the
armed police. Under this force, there are 2 subinspectors, I assistant
sub-inspector, 8 head constables and 65 constables in the District.
Vigilance Police :- One Superintendent of Police is in charge of
a unit of the vigilance Police, is posted at the District headquarters. He is
assisted by 1 deputy superintendent of police, 2 inspectors, 2 sub-inspectros,
1 head constable and 14 constables. The main function of the vigilance staff is
to detect corruption by either laying traps against corrupt officers and
officials or making equiries into the complaints entrusted to them.
Railway Police :- Railway police is not allotted to any particular district, but is
a part of separate State organization, working under the Assistant
Inspector-General, government Railway Police, Punjab, with headquarters at
Patiala. The circles of the Railway Police are
formed according to the sections of railways lines on which they control
crime committed in railway trains and within the railway premises.
The
headquarters of the Government Railway Police, through which the crime on
stations in the Firozpur District is controlled, are situated at the Firozpur
Cantonment. The staff posted in the District comprises 1 sub-inspector, 1
assistant-sub-inspector, 5 head constables and 24 constables.
Excise Police Staff :- The staff strength of the Excise Police in
District consists of 2 sub-inspectors, 10 head constables and 46 constables.
the whole Excise Police staff is on deputation from the main strength of the Police Department.
Village Police :- The institution of chowkidari is very old. Even in the remote post, every village had one such official, who received a share
from each cultivator’s produce as his remuneration. The chowkidari formed the lowest rung of the police organization,
as he supplied information of offence committed in the village to the police.
This
system has now gone weak because the people are generally averse to thikri
pehra and have an impression that it is the responsibility of the police alone
for maintaining law and order. Thus there is very little co-operation from the
people in village-patrolling. The Punjab Gram Panchayat Act, 1952, has,
however, authorized the panchayats to raise their own voluntary forces for the
maintenance of law and order within
their jurisdiction.
Trackers :- The class of professional trackers, known as khoji still
continues to exist in the Firozpur District and contributes to the society and administration the utility of their art
of establishing the identify of the criminals from footprints. These trackers track the hoof marks of
stray and stolen cattle and also track
criminals belonging to their neighbouring villages and of a neighbourig
district by following the trail of prints left
behind them. When a theft takes places, the trackers are summoned either by the sufferer or by the police or
any other administrative unit to help them to locate the guilty.
The
method of comparison of footprints is
mostly based on Locard’s principle,
i.e. when tow things come into contact, they are bound to leave their impact on each other and exchange
certain distinguished characteristics. In this case, certain principal features
of the parts of the foot parts of the foot and gait, i.e. the step length, the
walking line, the direction line, the angle of steps, the shape, breadth, foot
line, etc. are taken into account for
judging whether the person or animal is lame, was carrying weight or not, etc.
and thus, for eventually establishing
the identity of the criminals beyond doubt.
Most
of the trackers come from Bauria, Rai Sikh, Kamboj, Jat Sikh and Jhiwar communities
of the Punjab. Their efforts are rewarded by the Police Department and by the
complainants. The trackers also get due recognition under the Punjab Laws Act
of 1872, under which, vide section 41, trackers, in carrying on tracks, may
call for assistance from any headman or watchmen of the village, to the
immediate vicinity of which is punished under section 42 of the Act if he
refuses to give such assistance forthwith.
The
Punjab Home Guards Act was passed in 1948. It was first known as the Home Defence, Punjab. Later on, it was
rechristened as the Punjab Voluntary Corps. Now it is called the Punjab Home
Guards.
Every
State and Union Territory has its own organized civil defence corps. They are
ready to take on any thing from first and fire-fighting to supervising rescue
operations and standing in, during trouble to maintain communications. The
training period of the Home Guards is 100 hours, stretched over holidays and
Sundays and after working hours. They
are drilled in fire-fighting,
life-saving techniques, first aid, ambulance-driving, self-defence and traffic
control. Even in times of peace, the Home Guards are not forgotten. During the natural clamities, such as floods
or epidemics, it is the Home Guards, who man the relief operations.
The Punjab Home Guards was organized in the District in 1961. the
district Commander, Punjab Home Guards, Firozpur, is the head of this
organization at the District level to control the urban and rural
establishments, composed of 8 urban companies and 10 rural companies,
consisting of 110 jawans in every company. The urban boys are functioning in
the following urban towns of the District:
1. Ferozpur City
2.
Firozpur Cantonment
3.
Fazilka
4.
Abohar
The rural companies are
organized in the development blocks of the District.
The District Commander is assisted by 1 deputy commander, 5 company
commanders, 10 platoon commanders, 1 havildar clerk, 6 havildar instructors,
besides the other allied class III/IV staff.
(a)
Jails and
Lock-ups
Jails in India in the comparatively modern sense may be said to be a
creation of the nine teeth century. Long before that, the usual modes of punishment were fines, confiscation of
property, branding, mutilation, banishment, beheading, immuring in dungeons, 0
or planning death by using wild animals
or snakes, Lord Macaulay in 1835 drew the attention of the Directors of the East India Company to the
terrible conditions prevailing in the Indian Jails. A committee was appointed,
and its report came out in 1838. Pursuant to its recommendations, the first
Inspector-General of Prisons was appointed in Uttar Pradesh in 1844 and the
first Central Prison came into
existence in Agra in 1846. The great landmark in the prison administration is
the sixth All-India Jail Committee of 1919-20.
The prison administration in India
is a State subject. Rules and regulations vary from one part of the country to
another. The present political leaders had been inside jails on several
occasions during the British Rule in India. They have seen the sordid sided of
prison life and experienced its hardships and humiliation. After
independence, tremendous changes have
been affected in the working of the jails and the States seem to vie with one
another in introducing jail reforms.
There is a Central Jail at Firozpur
and a Sub-jail at Fazilka, Besides, there is a lock-up attached to each police
station, and it is controlled by the Police Department.
Central Jail, Firozpur :- The Central Jail is situated on the Mall
Road near the Punjab Roadways Bus Stand, Firozpur City. It is under the charge
of the Superintendent Jail, who is assisted by one deputy superintendents, one deputy superintendent (factory) 7
assistant superintendents, 3 welfare officers, 2 medical officers, 1 head clerk, assisted by 10 clerks, 2
accountant, 2 storekeepers, 2 dispensers, , 1 teacher, 12 head warders, 98
warders, 1 matron, besides other technical and class IV staff.
The total admission during the year
and the average daily population in the Central Jail, Friozpur during 1975 to
1980 are given in the following table :
1975 1976
1977 1978 1979 1980
1. Total admission during
5,712 6,880 5,248 8,703 7,434 6,383
the year
2. Agaverage daily population 1,132.61 1,312.70
1,159.00 1,080.00 963.53
879.31
(Source
Superintendent, Central Jail, Firozpur)
The maximum daily population of the prisoners in the Central Jail,
Firozpur, during 1980 was 1,225.
The number of convicted prisoners,
released on different grounds, during 1975 to 1980 is given in the following
table :
Year Number
of prisoners
1974 876
1974
864
1975
712
1976
724
1977
812
1978
520
(Source: Superintendent, Central
Jail, Ferozepur)