Odisha will ensure rape accused tried expeditiously: Patnaik

Bhubaneswar, April 26 (IANS) Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday said the state government will spare no efforts in ensuring that the rape accused are tried expeditiously.

"I want to assure this august house that my government will spare no efforts in ensuring that they are tried expeditiously. Safety and security of women, children and other vulnerable groups remains the top priority of my government," eh told the Assembly.

According to a white paper tabled in Assembly on Wednesday, Odisha witnessed a surge in rape cases in 2017 as 2,221 cases were registered in 2017 against 2,144 cases in 2016.

The Chief Minister said the law and order situation in the state has by and large remained peaceful and the overall crime situation is also well under control, he added.

No major Left Wing Extremism activity has been noticed in the affected districts while the recruitment to the Maoist organizations has declined and their mass support base been rendered weak, said Patnaik.

He said the intelligence-based operations have yielded significant results in 2018 with neutralization of five hardcore cadres and 12 arrests.

To prevent cybercrime, in addition to the Cyber Police Station at Cuttack, three more Cyber Police Stations at Berhampur, Sambalpur and Rourkela have been established, Patnaik said.

The Chief Minister also said that Odisha government has decided to set up State Vigilance Academy in Bhubaneswar for upgrading the professional knowledge and skills of the vigilance officers.

Odisha Vigilance, during 2017 and till March 31 this year, has registered total 603 criminal cases. It has initiated 765 inquiries against the public servants in which 279 persons have been arrested while 44 public servants have been dismissed from government services, said the Chief Minister.