New Delhi: The West Bengal government is set to introduce two bills in the Assembly to strictly deal with public disorder, vandalism and attacks on police personnel and public servants, a senior official said on Sunday.
He said the Home Department is likely to place the proposed legislation before the state Cabinet for approval on Monday.
The bills are expected to be tabled during the Budget Session of the Assembly, said the senior official in the state secretariat.
“The objective is not only to maintain law and order but also to ensure public safety. There have been repeated instances where police personnel, administrative officials and even central forces have come under attack while performing their duties,” the official told PTI.
Among the bills, one seeks to amend the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order Act, 1972, which deals with riots, arson, looting, use of explosives and other actions that threaten public order, he said.
The amendment is expected to propose widening the scope of the existing law and provide additional powers to the administration and police for dealing with such offences, the official added.
“The second proposal is a new legislation titled the Public Safety Control and Anti-Social Activity Bill,” he said.
Unlike the existing law, which primarily focuses on maintaining law and order, the new bill proposes to strengthen public safety and address anti-social activities more comprehensively, the official explained.
West Bengal has witnessed several incidents in which police stations and government offices were targeted by anti-social elements, and in some cases, police personnel and officers were reportedly forced to take shelter from violent mobs.
Following a recent vandalism in Falta, where some locals led by the wife of arrested Trinamool Congress leader Jahangir Khan tried to storm the local police station, allegedly to free him, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had indicated that his government was working on a stringent legal framework to curb such incidents.
“The law was in cold storage. We are bringing it out and activating it. The Home Department is bringing in more stringent laws in this Budget Session.
“With such laws in place, people will think five times before taking the law into their own hands,” Adhikari had said.
The bureaucrat at the state secretariat said the proposed legislation draws from similar laws in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat, though the scope and definitions vary.
In Uttar Pradesh, such laws largely target organised crime syndicates, land-grabbing and extortion networks, he said, adding that Maharashtra’s framework focuses on activities linked to extremist and anti-state organisations, while Gujarat has enacted laws aimed at tackling organised crime and terror-linked networks.
The new bill to be introduced in the West Bengal Assembly may contain provisions allowing authorities to recover compensation for damage to public or private property from convicted offenders, he said.
“In such cases, the assets of those found guilty could be sold to compensate for losses caused during violence or vandalism,” the senior official said.
The Home Department is finalising the draft legislation, he added.
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
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