The team is back.

Residents of the state capital hope that criminals will vanish from the streets with better policing — something used to be regular during 2009-11 — as Manu Maharaj is taking charge as Patna senior superintendent of police (SSP) on Wednesday.

Maharaj had been Patna city superintendent of police (SP) from June 2009 to February 2011 — a post being held by Jayant Kant at present — before he was sent to Maoist-hit Rohtas as SP. Together with Kant, who had been “trained” under Maharaj as Rohtas additional superintendent of police in 2011, the new SSP is all set to control crime in the city.

Crime figures have sharply gone up in the last couple of years. In 2011, altogether 4,957 criminal cases were reported and the figure went up to 6,205 till March 2012 when Amrit Raj joined as Patna SSP. When the team of B.S. Meena as Patna SSP and Maharaj as city SP worked together in 2010, the figure was much lower at 4,718.

But statistics is not all as Maharaj’s way of functioning turned out to be terror for even the hardened criminals. On Tuesday also, Maharaj told The Telegraph: “True detection of crime is very important. It is only through detection that one can prevent criminal incidents. This has always been my priority and it will remain the same.”

A lot of crime-control measures initiated by Maharaj — along with Meena — have no takers at present in apparent absence of efficient policing. However, several schemes — like the unique numbering of autorickshaws and regular raids on defaulters launched in December 2011 — might be resumed soon, especially after the Delhi gang rape incident (see chart). Once both the officers left and the new team of SSP Alok Kumar and SP Shivdeep Lande came, the scheme was forgotten.

Police officers in Patna said it was all about “teamwork” and coordination between the SSP and SP — a striking feature during Maharaj’s time. “The problem of poor policing was not there during Meena and Maharaj. There were strict directions for checks and patrolling by senior police officers, including the SSP. This changed once they were gone. Though Lande and Kumar never got their internal tussle out in the open, things fell apart. The weak policing turned matters worse and criminals just flourished in the city, reminding the residents of days of ’90s,” a police officer said on condition of anonymity.

Although outgoing SSP Raj and Kant had identified 30 exit and entry points to Patna promising stringent checks, nothing major has been done on this front. Similarly, the “Patna Police Youth Club”, a project that talked about making its members “eyes and ears” of police, fell flat.

Maharaj said he would work on a specific strategy, which he did not want to divulge.

BOLD STEPS

With BS Meena, who was Patna SSP then, he started unique numbering of autorickshaws in December 2011*

Regular raids of autorickshaws were conducted in the Patna Junction area*

Anti-rash driving cell to pick up wayward bikers and snatchers*

Police presence was there in every nook and corner of the city

Strict directions were given for regular checks and patrolling