Many police stations in shabby state: PC

In the worst Naxal-infested pockets in some districts of the country, police station exists only on paper.

The stunning revelation was made by the Union Home Minister P Chidambaram while addressing the inaugural session of the 40th All India Police Science Congress here on Thursday.

"I do not wish to name the states or the police stations but, believe me, there are police stations where the station house has been blown up; there are police stations where there are no more then eight men; and even these eight men or less men do not hold any weapons for fear of the weapons being looted," Chidambaram said.

Chidambaram added that one would recall the case of Lalgarh police station in West Midnapore district of West Bengal. The police station was closed- and locked from inside for several months until the CRPF 'liberated' it, the Union Home Minister said.

The 40th All India Police Science Congress is being attended by more than 80 Indian Police Service (IPS) officers across the country. The three-day Congress had been organised by the Bureau of Police Research and Development, New Delhi, in association with the Chhattisgarh Police.

Chidambaram said that 12 states had not responded to Central government's Transparent Recruitment Process (TRP) related to the police reforms. Of the 30 states, only Uttar Pradesh had actually implemented TRP, Chidambaram said, adding that four states have reported that they have their own TRP; 13 states have acknowledged the recommendations; and no response has been received from 12 states.

The Union Home Minister said that policing a country of over 1.1 billion people in a troubled neighbourhood was difficult, especially when the nation had an ill-equipped police force.