Rajasthan | A system suffers death by contamination

Did someone say Mohan Charan Majhi was a chief minister with little demonstrable administrative will of his own? Perish the thought. For, Odisha’s unassuming chief minister has put his signature on one of the toughest crackdowns on crime the state has seen yet. Its scale is truly one for the books. Within the span of a five-day special drive, from May 12 to May 16, over 1,700 alleged culprits found themselves in the cooler through the execution of non-bailable warrants.

It was after Majhi publicly raised concerns over rising violent crime in Odisha that police went into action. The operation, ordered by DGP Yogesh Bahadur Khurania, monitored by Additional DGP Sanjay Kumar and running simultaneously across all ranges, targeted fugitives, narcotics peddlers, illegal miners, those with a fondness for owning unlicensed guns, even drunk driving.

TWO AREAS OF FOCUS

Altogether, by the end, police had put its lasso firmly around 1,771 offenders—all on pending warrants. Another 190 absconding accused were arrested and produced before court. Five “notorious criminals” were even booked under the National Security Act (NSA).

The hold-all nature of the crackdown apart, it did have two specific areas of focus. One was narcotics, which is widely seen as a rapidly escalating crisis in Odisha. The state is battling both massive illegal cultivation and a severe spike in youth addiction, placing it among the top states nationally for substance abuse.

The lower end of this, cannabis, is high enough. Odisha ranks as India’s second-highest consumer. Illegal cannabis plantations are reported to thrive in Koraput, Malkangiri, Kandhamal and Ganjam, despite police destroying tens of thousands of acres annually. These districts, all ranging towards the south and southwest, are said to be the source of large quantities of cannabis smuggled to other parts of India. It was no surprise, then, that the south-western range accounted for the largest single chunk of narcotics haul, with over 1,943 kg of ganja seized. Altogether, over 3,026 kg of ganja was seized. The use of hard drugs like heroin and brown sugar, too, is said to be rising.

Illegal mining, a recurring issue in Odisha and a politically sensitive one, was another focus. This also presented striking visuals encapsulating the crackdown as a total of 179 vehicles allegedly used in illegal excavation and transport of minerals were seized. Trucks, tractors, dumpers, tippers, JCBs and other earthmovers were seen lined up outside several police stations.

“Special enforcement drives will continue relentlessly against crime and the mafia,” said DGP Khurania. With illegal firearms and road safety enforcement lumped into the same frame, the final numbers looked impressive. Nearly Rs 1.89 crore was collected in fines for various traffic violations over the five days! In a smaller but symbolically loaded strand, five cow-smuggling cases were registered; police arrested one accused and said 33 cattle were rescued from four vehicles.

Whether Majhi’s tough sheriff act can clean up Odisha is moot. Take illegal mining: it’s a sector of crime that climbs right up to the top, with a history of such large-scale fraud that a Supreme Court-appointed commission of inquiry made Odisha one of its prime focus states. Mining forms part of narratives of displacement and ecological destruction. The more complex problems for Majhi may lie within the ambit of what’s legal.