"To Shoot Down Escaping Criminals Must Be Pattern": Assam Chief Minister

Himanta Biswa Sarma urged the Assam police personnel not to succumb to political pressure or inducements and advocated healthy a lifestyle.

Shooting at criminals "should be the pattern" if they attempt to escape from custody, according to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Justifying a series of shootouts reported from his state in recent times, today he also advocated zero-tolerance to crime against women, well-equipped law-keepers, error-free chargesheet writing, among other things. Speaking for the first time to all Officers-in-Charge (OCs) of the state's many police stations on "Redefining Policing Standards in Assam", the Chief Minister today issued directions to strictly deal with crimes against women and show zero tolerance. Chargesheets for all rape, molestation, and assault cases must be filed at the earliest, along with those in murder, arms, and drugs smuggling cases, to ensure speedy trial, he said. However, his backing of shooting at criminals, although qualified, stood out among his pronouncements today.