• February 19 : Land broker Chhotu Sahu (27) is shot in the head in front of his house in Chutia around 8am; no arrests so far

• February 22 : A gang of eight snatches Rs 6 lakh from four employees of a petrol pump in Doranda around 12.15pm when they are on their way to the bank to deposit sales proceeds; no arrests

• February 23 : Transporter Aditya Singh (40) is fatally shot in Pandra around 10.45am on his way home from his son's school; no arrests

• February 24 : Two men on a bike snatch Rs 10 lakh cash from a retired BCCL employee near the railway station around 3pm; no arrests

Faced with a sudden spurt in daylight crimes in Ranchi and no breakthrough, SSP Kuldeep Dwivedi has directed OCs of all the 32 urban and rural police stations to submit written proposals to invoke the Jharkhand Crime Control Act, 2002, against recognised crooks who are out on bail and draw up a list of suspected offenders.

Under the Act, a person with criminal antecedents in police record is required to appear before the OC every day while the officer reports about the person's conduct to his superiors daily. Keeping tabs on suspects, on the other hand, can help police dig into the complicated network of organised crimes.

As per provisions of the Act, an advisory board is constituted comprising people who either are or are qualified to be appointed as judges in high court. A sitting HC judge is notified to head the advisory board, along with the HC registrar-general and Ranchi judicial commissioner. The board holds periodic meetings and persons detained under the Act are produced before it for considering their further detention.

Speaking to The Telegraph at his residential office on Thursday night, SSP Dwivedi said 15 proposals - all from urban thanas - to invoke the Act had already been forwarded to the deputy commissioner while the rest (one urban and 16 rural) were awaited from respective police stations. "The CCA helps curb offences because it works as a deterrent for many criminals," he said.

As a backup plan against frequent murders and robberies, Ranchi police are likely to roll out additional PCR vans too. "Around 20 more vehicles linked to the police control room (PCR) will be pressed into service, taking up the fleet size to 32. Apart from this, motorbike patrolling will be reorganised in a way that no pocket of the city remains unmanned. Routine mock drills will be conducted to ensure result-oriented patrolling," the SSP promised.

Dwivedi has further asked thana heads to analyse the crime pattern. "For instance, if a cop derives that frequency of crimes is more in a particular locality, then patrolling needs to be stepped up in that area," he explained.

Doranda OC Sudhir Kumar welcomed the tough act. "Under Section 12 of the Crime Control Act, a criminal behind bars can be compelled to stay inside for a year more, while under Section 3, police can ask a particularly aggressive person to leave district," he said.

How else can Ranchi's gun culture be controlled? Tell ttkhand@abpmail.com