The first phase of the Nabakalabar festival has already begun. Nearly 50 lakh pilgrims and tourists are expected to reach Puri to witness the grand event in July. What are the preparations from your side to deal with the situation?

Odisha police is fully geared up and mentally prepared to ensure that the Nabakalebar festival of Lord Jagannath takes place peacefully without any problems. During the festival, we will stress on crowd control and better traffic management. Adequate police force will be deployed for this. We have also started posting more police offices in the district by pulling them from other districts. We are keeping a close watch on the progress of various projects related to construction of parking places and a new bus stand. Once the work is complete, we will come out with a foolproof plan to ensure that there is proper management of traffic.

The state has witnessed a spurt in Maoist activities in the past few years. What is the situation now and has the police been able to contain the Maoist menace? 

The overall situation has improved to a great extent. There was a time when our armouries were looted. Between 2004 and 2008, there were attacks on the police station at Koraput,  raids on the armoury at Nayagarh and even the CISF post at Damnajodi. Attempts had been made to loot explosives. Police personnel were easy targets of the Maoists. We were not even able to enter Narayanpatna in Koraput district. There was disturbance in Similipal wildlife sanctuary in Mayurbhanj district. Now, there has been a quantum change. Tourists can now freely enter Similipal and even Daringbadi in Kandhamal district. Top Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda is in jail. Another leader, Nachika Linga, has also been arrested. Several areas that were considered hotbeds of Maoists are now under the police administration. However, there are a few pockets in Kandhamal where the movement of Maoists have been noticed. But the police will check them soon. It is just a matter of time.

Work on the important Gurupriya bridge in Malkangiri district, which could not be constructed because of the Maoist threat, has started. How far will this help the police?

The main concern of the government is to ensure that the administration reaches the people and people get benefit of good governance. Nearly 30,000 people are cut off. If someone gets ill, he is unable to reach the hospital to get treatment. Things will change with the construction of the Gurupriya bridge. Even the policing system will improve.

Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda, who is currently in jail, has threatened to launch an agitation in the jail as the administration has failed to inform him how many cases he has been involved in.

When a case was lodged against him, the court had issued a notice. Everyone, including the media, knows how many cases he has been involved in. There are audio cassettes in which he admits his involvement in the kidnapping of the two Italian tourists — Paolo Bosusco and Claudio Colangelo.  Now the atmosphere has changed and he and a few others have claimed that he was not involved. Now it is a question of proving the cases. We are doing our job and the court will decide the fate of the cases. I have the highest regard for a revolutionary who actually fights for the cause of the poor. But what I have noticed is that in the garb of revolution, a few people loot poor and amass properties for themselves. They (the leaders) live a better life and let the poor languish in abysmal poverty.

Is Odisha is getting the required help from the Centre to tackle the Maoist menace?

Definitely. If you look back to the 80s, police stations were running in miserable conditions. There were no quarters and no vehicles. Things have changed now with the central government's funding. The ongoing modernisation of the police force should continue. But at present, what we are demanding is that two more battalions of central forces be deployed to tackle the Maoist menace in the bordering areas of Chhattisgarh. This has not yet been addressed. At a time when the Centre has deployed huge forces in Chhattisgarh to deal with the Maoist problem, we are feeling a spill-over effect here. The Maoist movement is spreading in the border areas. Besides, additional central forces, we need a chopper that can be deployed at Koraput for better movement of forces. If a jawan is injured, we have to immediately shift him to the nearby hospital, which is impossible by road and waterways.

How do you strike a balance with political interference in the police?

It's easy to blame the politicians. We have to change our approach towards politicians. No politician will tell the police to release an accused in murder or rape cases. As he represents the people, he will come to the police with peoples' grievances. We have to listen to them about their grievance on police atrocities on people and redress them. You will notice that even at this age, people feel comfortable to approach politicians and not the inspector of a police station. If a politician approaches us for a wrong cause, one can politely refuse. But if he comes with a right cause, we have to help him.

But we have noticed most of the thana babus lack this spirit…

Yes, I do admit that. Even a journalist is apprehensive of meeting a police inspector. A lot is needed to change the mindset of police officers. We should always remember that we are getting our salary from the common tax payers' money and it's our duty to help them.

According to the recent white paper of the state government, 1,832 rape cases were registered in 2013 as compared to 2,011 in 2014. How do you react to it?

It's more of a social problem. The number has increased as we have registered all the cases. But it has been found that the girls are becoming the victim of their close acquaintances. Sometimes in the lure of marriage, few unscrupulous people sexually exploit the girls. However, we have asked our police to investigate the cases properly, whenever they are reported.  Only in the Itishree murder and the Pipili rape and murder case, we found some negligence among the lower-rung police officials. But in other cases, we have done our job. Strict instructions have been issued that whoever fails to initiate steps in this regard will face departmental action.

Don't you feel that the question paper leak in the constable recruitment test has dented the image of the Odisha police to a great extent?

The police force is the law-executing agency. Any such incident will certainly dent the image of the police. But it is good that the incident has come to light and entry of cheats into the police force through dubious means could be prevented. The crime branch has promptly initiated action and arrested the accused.

We have noticed that there are serious differences among IPS officers on different issues. How do you deal with this? 

All of us have to work within a system. When a difference of opinion crops up on certain issues, we sit together and take a decision. Now there is a proposal to introduce e-examination for the constable recruitment. A number of opinions come in favour and against it. We will have to take a call on this issue.

There is a public perception that you are critical of the functioning of the police commissionerate in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. How far it is true? 

There is no difference of opinion. I want all announcements being followed by execution. Only lip service should stop. We have noticed that autorickshaws and mini trucks are moving without proper display of their number plates in the heart of the city. It has come to notice that the case diary is not maintained for nearly 15 days at Kharavela Nagar police station. People are being confined without cases being registered against them. This is complete violation of human dignity. Why does a lady schoolteacher who went to lodge a complaint at Nayapalli police station not get proper treatment? If any thing goes wrong, one has to be answerable. The tendency of passing the buck has to end. Action should be initiated against those who fail to perform.

There was a major lapse in providing security to the chief minister's convoy in February. Eggs were hurled at his car. Can you ensure that something like this will not happen in the future?

An unfortunate incident had taken place when the chief minister was going to Vani Vihar. A number of initiatives have been taken to tighten his security. Strong disciplinary action was initiated against those officials who failed to perform their duties. We hope no such incident will take place in the future.

We have noticed that there is a tussle going on between the outgoing DGP Prakash Mishra and Odisha Police. The state vigilance has also filed a case.

It is not a tussle. Based on some evidence, the state vigilance has filed cases. Prakash Mishra has also a filed a case in the court to quash the vigilance case. The vigilance has also filed a counter affidavit. As the case is sub-judice, it will be improper for me to comment on the matter.

TOUGH COP

• Coming from a humble background from Jharkhand, Marik is now the head of Odisha Police 
• He did his matriculation in Patna and then went to Hindu college in Delhi to pursue his postgraduation in history
• Known for his bold stand and competence, the 1981-batch IPS officer has been able to carve a niche for himself in the police administration

WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE BEEN HAD YOU NOT BEEN AN IPS OFFICER?

Public service was my motto since my childhood days. I have been brought up under a good value system. We have been taught to serve the poor at the grassroots. My father was an MLA.