The office of the East Singhbhum superintendent of police, where the crime meeting was convened. Picture by Srinivas

Jamshedpur, May 19: “Perform or perish,” was what theEast Singhbhum superintendent of police told his sub-ordinates at a meeting to discuss crime today.

Though the bulk of the time was absorbed in discussion and deliberation on maalkhanas in police stations and disposing of the items, but the need to perform in policing was the buzzword throughout the meeting that lasted a good four hours.

The firing episode in front of slain shoe baron Ashish Dey’s house had a bearing in the meeting, as superintendent of police (SP) Naveen Kumar Singh claimed that he ensure that the constables posted at Dey’s house on May 16 are dismissed.

“I will probed as to what led the three policemen to overlook the gang of criminals who rained bullets at the Dey residence. I would not tolerate such cops. I will get them dismissed,” said Singh.

The officer said the maalkhanas in police stations have been lying in a mess since decades.

“Except for a few cases, the items seized or kept for exhibits in the maalkhanas are gathering dust. I have instructed my deputies to ensure that police officers, who were in charge of the respective maalkhanas, across East Singhbhum district hand over their charges. When they hand over the charge, the details about the items can be ascertained,” he said.

Singh said materials confiscated or seized are lying in the maalkhanas whereas the cases pertaining to the items have long been disposed off. He said the items included motorcycles, firearms, ornaments, cash and hardware.

The SP told The Telegraph that the officers in charge of police stations were asked to prepare a list of cases having exhibits in police custody.

He added that there should be separate lists of the cases, which have already disposed off, but the items still lying dumped at the police stations and the cases, which are still sub-judice. “I have instructed the concerned police officers to ensure that the confiscated vehicles are cleared off. They should either be returned to the rightful owners or be auctioned. The main idea behind the step is to keep the records of the police station clean,” said Singh. On being asked, the SP said there are a few sophisticated firearms like AK-47s and AK-56s in the maalkhanas, but such firearms have to be shifted to Golmuri police line to keep them safe.

Apart from the maalkhana issue, the SP discussed about the undetected cases. He said the cases pertaining to motorcycle loots and persons involved in these cases were discussed primarily.

“As a matter of fact, the stolen vehicles are used in committing murder and other grievous crimes. Therefore, the detection of all such cases of bike loot becomes important,” said Singh, adding that he has assigned the deputy superintendents of police to make a list of criminals against whom arrest warrants are lying pending.