Table of Contents
What has happened?
- The Bihar legislature witnessed pandemonium inside and outside the Assembly on March 23-24, As Opposition parties opposed the government’s attempt to pass the Bihar Special Armed Police Bill, 2021.
- Protesting Opposition lawmakers were forcibly ousted by marshals and additional police forces called in by the Speaker’s office, with many injured in the scuffle that ensued.
- As many as seven opposition MLAs were seen with injuries and one Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) member Satish Das was taken out on a stretcher.
- Outside the Assembly, legislators and workers of the RJD clashed with the police who tried to prevent them reaching the building leading to a baton charge by the police, which again left many injured.
- Following the incidents, the RJD-led Opposition has said it will boycott the Assembly until Chief Minister Nitish Kumar apologises for the police action.
- The Opposition also called for a state-wide bandh on March 26.
- However, the contentious Bill, was passed in both the Houses.
What is the new Bill?
- The contentious Bill proposes to rename the Bihar Military Police (BMP) to Bihar Special Armed Police.
- The mandate of the bill is to maintain public order, combat extremism, and ensure better protection and security of specific establishments.
- The Special Armed Police will have one or more battalions depending on the requirement for any specified period.
- The Special Armed Police will have the power to arrest people even without a warrant.
- This power will be available to any of the Special Armed Police’s officers.
- The Special Armed Police will be able to arrest any person if he or she poses any risk of causing disturbance or preventing the force from ensuring security of an establishment.
- This means that a protest can be broken up by the Special Armed Police if the demonstration is capable of disrupting any government function.
- The bill gives the Special Armed Police the power to make arrests on suspicion and to conduct a search of a suspect’s premises without procuring a warrant from a magistrate.
- The only safeguard is that the search can be conducted by an officer of a notified rank or above.
Immunity to the officers
- The bill also grants a kind of immunity to the officers of the Special Armed Police,
- As it bars courts from taking cognizance of any complaint against the personnel of the force except when, The government has sanctioned action against the concerned officers.
What the govt says?
- In the preamble to the bill, the Bihar government has argued that the state’s security needs have changed in over the last several years due to its rapidly developing socio-economic
- The government has said Bihar requires an armed police force with a multi-domain
- Such a force is needed, the government has said, to meet requirements of industrial security, security of vital installations, airports, and metro rail, among others, in the larger interest of Bihar.
- The Bihar Military Police has undertaken this responsibility until now but the government says it is necessary that its separate identity should continue to achieve the required objectives.
- The Bihar Police is governed by the Bihar Police Act 2007 (enacted by the first full-term Nitish Kumar government).
- Previously, the force was governed by sets of rules notified under the Police Act, 1861 and Bengal Military Police Act, 1892.
Why is the Opposition protesting?
- The Opposition has termed the Bill “draconian and unconstitutional” and an attempt by the government to enforce “Police Raj” in the State.
- The joint Opposition statement said the Bill will “effectively transform the police force into an armed militia to throttle the voice of the people, academics, activists, journalists, political opposition and those who would dare to speak the truth”.
- Rashtriya Janata Dal legislator from Ramgarh Sudhakar Singh told:
- “In a democracy where has the provision of power separation gone? Section 15 of the Bill says even if a person is shot, the inquiry will be done not in the court or by the magistrate but by the police.
- Through this Act, the BMP will function as National Investigating Agency (NIA)”.
Q) Who among the following is credited for the modernisation of the old Indian system of Thanas in a district?
- Lord Minto
- Lord Mayo
- Warren Hasting
- Lord Cornwallis
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