Negligible crime rate in Bageshwar tehsil has cops puzzled

ALMORA: Cops deployed at Kanda tehsil police station, which was opened on January 1 this year and caters to over 170 villages, are a worried lot. In almost four months, no crimes have been reported from this tehsil in Bageshwar district and the police station records show just two cases of possession/sale of illegal liquor which were registered under Section 60 of the Excise Act.
While station officer Rajesh Yadav, who is currently posted in Haridwar for kumbh duty, is not being missed by many, his junior colleague, head constable Jagat Singh, who is running the show, told TOI, “Things have been quiet since the police station was opened. People here are friendly; nobody has really come up with a complaint to the police station. Though there have been minor fights, but folks here like to resolve such issues on their own.”
The police station, which has a staff strength of eight personnel — one station officer, four constables and three home guards — caters to 172 villages that come under Kanda tehsil. Till about last year, the area came under the revenue police. Bageshwar district SP N S Napalchyal said that the remote areas of Bageshwar have recorded less crimes as compared to the urban areas. “Even when the area was under the revenue police, very few crimes were recorded. So, if people don't commit crimes, how will the police record cases?” he said.
“Look at Delhi and other big cities. There are so many crimes every day. But people like to live peacefully here. There are problems but people resolve their differences mutually, without taking the help of law enforcement agencies,” Deepak Joshi, a resident of Kanda, said.