Patwari Police System / Dhami cabinet took this decision on this 150 year old police system - will become history

Patwari Police System: India's unmatched Patwari Police will soon be lost in the pages of history due to the rulers and administrators unaware of the history and cultural environment of Uttarakhand. During the British period, due to the specific social conditions of this area and the negligible crimes, a different type of administration was implemented here unlike the rest of India. It also included the Patwari Police System. However, now after the rebuke of the Nainital High Court, the Uttarakhand government has started preparing to hand over the 150-year-old revenue police system to the civil police like other parts of the country. Since this transfer is not so easy and in the hill life, the Patwari police system without uniform and without weapons has been established and in view of the dislike of the people towards the Khaki police, the order of the High Court could not be followed.

Proposal to open 6 police stations and 20 outposts passed

In fact, the Pushkar Singh Dhami government of Uttarakhand has taken steps towards the deployment of civil police in the revenue areas of the state. In this episode, the proposal to open 6 police stations and 20 outposts in revenue areas has been passed in the Dhami cabinet on Wednesday. These police stations and outposts will be opened in those revenue areas in 9 districts of the state, where criminal incidents have increased in the last few years.

The past of the mountain is associated with the Patwari police

Let us tell you that the Patwari police is not just a law and order machine but also a part of the hill society. The identity of this system is from Uttarakhand, so the cultural and social identity of Uttarakhand is also vested in the Patwari police. Due to the specific social conditions of Uttarakhand, the British Police Act of 1861 was not implemented here. Due to the unique cultural environment, the administration of Uttarakhand was run under the Scheduled Districts Act 1874 like Tribal Assam and accordingly the Patwaris got police powers. Therefore, for the rulers to understand Uttarakhand, it is necessary to understand the Patwari police and its past which is not being understood.

How does revenue police work?

The credit for the unmatched Patwari police system of Uttarakhand goes to G.W. Trail can only be given. Trail created 16 posts of Patwaris and gave them the work of police, revenue collection, land records. During the reign of the Company government, a police station was opened in the hilly region of Almora in 1837 and Ranikhet in 1843. Revenue police system is in force in the state since 1874. At present, this system is applicable to about 61 percent of the state. In this system, Patwari, Kanungo, Naib Tehsildar, Tehsildar, Pargandhikari, District Magistrate and Commissioner etc. have to do the work of police along with revenue.

It is the responsibility of the revenue police to investigate crimes, register cases and apprehend criminals. For some time, the demand for handing over the revenue areas to the civil police has raised a strong demand. The reason behind this demand is that the revenue police do not have a solid system to prevent crime and due to lack of technical knowledge, they cannot investigate crimes effectively.

Know that during the British rule, there were 19 parganas and 125 patwari areas in Kumaon, while there were 11 parganas and 86 patwari areas in Garhwal. After the Ankita Bhandari murder case, once again the functioning of the revenue police came under question. After which the head of the state has passed a proposal to meet the revenue police with the regular police in a phased manner without delay. With this decision of the government, there is hope of timely justice to the villagers in the revenue areas under these police stations and outposts.

It is hoped that now serious crimes like murder in these areas will not remain buried in files. Cases of serious crimes will go to the police. Let us tell you that at present Uttarakhand is the only state in the country where this system is alive. 7500 villages of the state are under the purview of the Patwari police. Earlier, there was no need of civil police in the hilly areas of the state as there were never any major criminal cases reported here.

After the recent Vanantara resort case, this demand gained momentum, so the government also felt the need for the deployment of civil police in the revenue areas. In this regard, in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, it was decided that revenue areas would be brought under the ambit of civil police in a phased manner. In this episode, the cabinet gave green signal to open 6 police stations and 20 outposts in revenue areas.