Police act after criticism

Ranchi: Jharkhand police launched a special anti-crime drive on Friday following a directive from DGP D K Pandey in the wake of rising number of crimes.
Police checked vehicles at every thoroughfare in Ranchi and on its outskirts. The recent incidents of police insensitivity in several districts and dwindling law and order here and in major towns in Jharkhand have put police and the Raghubar Das government on the opposition's firing line.
In Ranchi, police checked over 2,000 vehicles and fined around 400 for violating the Motor Vehicles Act, said district police spokesperson Vikas Chandra Srivastava."No individual was detained or arrested. If the drivers of the seized vehicles produce evidence, the vehicles would be released after paying the penalty," said a police officer.
Bokaro, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Hazaribag, Adityapur (Saraikela-Kharasawan) and other towns also witnessed similar police campaigns which ended creating trouble for genuine citizens going about their business. "The policemen were not looking for suspected people. Rather they were looking for targets to collect fine and complete the routine of anti-crime checking. I was targeted for not having environment clearance for my bike," Ankit Kumar, who took up argument with a traffic police constable during the checking at Jail chowk in Ranchi , told TOI.