Patna SSP Amrit Raj (left) interacts with his predecessor Alok Kumar on Tuesday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

The new Patna senior superintendent of police (SSP), Amrit Raj, expects the state capital to surprise him.

Amrit Raj, 39, had served as the city superintendent of police in 2003. The crime rate was very high then, things have improved considerably now. But challenges are aplenty for the new officer. Over the past year, the number of criminal incidents seems to be slowly but surely rising again.

“Eight years is a long time. The city must have changed a lot,” said Raj, after joining duty on Tuesday.

On plans to check crime, Raj said: “It would be premature for me to announce any plan, as I need to study the scene first. But there is one thing I want to clarify. The police want to have a pro-people attitude. We are also looking for the co-operation of the people.”

He added: “The police will come up with an action plan to tackle crime. Things will happen in the due course. Citizens would soon feel more secure.”

A glance at the figures will inform Raj that he has to take charge soon. The past three months have been quite bleak for policing. In this period, at least 25 cases of murder were registered in the state capital, mostly in the Patna City area.

Around 18 chain-snatching incidents, 15 loots and 200 thefts have been reported in the past three months. Last evening, the body of a two-year-old girl, who had been missing for a week, was found in the Bazaar Samiti area. The girl was a resident of the Malsalami area in Patna City.

The new SSP, however, treaded carefully. He said: “I have joined today only. At this moment, it will be very difficult for me to comment on anything. The citizens should not fear or hesitate before coming to the police regarding any kind of problem. The main motive of the police is to make people feel safe. We will thrive to fulfil that motive.”

Police officers in the state capital were upbeat about their new boss. A deputy superintendent of police-rank officer told The Telegraph: “There was not much interaction with him, as he had to go to the Assembly and the police line. But we hope that he will come up with realistic ideas to improve law and order.”