Meghalaya Police: Meghalaya government has constituted a Police Accountability Commission (PAC) to improve policing, work culture and also ensuring strict maintenance of discipline within the force..

SHILLONG: In the backdrop of reports of rising cases of corruption, dereliction of duty and highhandedness in the state police force, the Meghalaya government has constituted a Police Accountability Commission (PAC) to improve policing, work culture and also ensuring strict maintenance of discipline within the force. "We have set up a police accountability commission in accordance with Section 74 of the Meghalaya Police Act (MPA)," home minister HDR Lyngdoh told reporters here. On the role and function of the commission, Lyngdoh said, "The function and powers of the commission will be similar to that of a civil court enforcing trials and suits against any complaints against the department or its personnel." Headed by the home minister, the commission will have the chief secretary, home secretary and DGP as members. Apart from government officials, the commission will also have non-official members. "The government has decided to have three non-official members, whose selection will be based on transparency," the home minister said. He added that non-official members of the commission would comprise retired government officers not below the rank of a principal secretary or inspector general of police (IGP) and a person having 10 years' experience in public administration. Last year, in compliance with the Meghalaya Police Act, the state government had set up the State Security Commission headed by the chief minister. Welcoming the development, a retired police officer, who did not want to be named, said, "The police force in Meghalaya needs total overhauling. Most criminal cases in this state lead to nowhere and there are very few cases which ultimately get resolved."