Patna HC doubts ability of ATS to handle terror cases

Patna: The Patna high court on Monday expressed annoynace over the lack of clarity in the government reply to a PIL relating to allegations of the state Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) being defunct, and wondered whether the squad was in readiness to tackle incidents of terror attack. Petitioner Mehtab Hussain through counsel Ashar Mustafa has alleged in the PIL that the state has neither a full-fledged IG nor a full-fledged SP, which is a violation of the ATS rules. Patna zone IG Kundan Krishnan is currently holding the additional charge of ATS, the PIL says.
At least 50% of the posts in the ATS are vacant, and the squad ever since its consitution in 2014 has has taken up only three cases, petitioner’s counsel said. He said crores of rupee had been spent on the ATS whose personnel have been trained for special investigations. But the services of ATS personnel, including specially-trained commandos, were being used for petty purposes like the arrest of a man who killed his wife in Phulwarisharif.
The PIL says while there are only 18 officers of the rank of ASI and above as against the sanctioned posts of 68 and only 106 havildars and constables as against the sanctioned posts of 210, an initiative had been made to fill up all the vacancies of cooks and water bearers who are required to serve the Special Weaponry and Tactics Group (SWAT) of the ATS.
As of now, there are only 26 trained constables and four SIs in SWAT while 20 other constables are undergoing training at Manesar. Appointment against 100% vacancies of cooks and water bearers was disproportionate to such a small number of SWAT personnel, the PIL says and alleges ulterior motives behind the move for such large-scale appointments.
Citing the instance of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala, UP and Rajasthan, the petitoner’s counsel said the state ATS was supposed to function with a police station with powers to investigate terror-related incidents and inputs. Anti-sabotage equipment for better mobility and communication is to be purchased for the ATS. But it is not happening in Bihar, he said.
The HC had earlier sought a counter-affidavit from the government, which a division bench of acting Chief Justice Iqbal Ahmed Ansari and Justice Anjana Mishra on Monday found unsatisfactory. The court observed the counter-affidavit filed by the deputy secretary (home) was vague and did not have clarity. The court also expressed displeasure over the pitiable state of the ATS which, it said, is an important police wing to control major crime.
The court directed the principal secretary (home) to file a reply in this regard before March 4.