West Bengal Police Order No. 02 of 1950
Sub:- Instruction for the use of Police Wireless System.
A. Police wireless system is primarily intended for use in times of emergency when all ordinary means of communication have failed. The Posts and Telegraphs Department have, as a very special case, permitted the transmission in normal times of messages of strictly Law and Order nature and only such non-law and order messages which are so urgent as to require in more speedy transmission than is provided by the ordinary telegraphic service. Instructions on the above lines have been issued from time to time for the guidance of all concerned but it has been noticed that a considerable amount of non-law and order messages which could conveniently be sent by ordinary means of communication are being transmitted over the Police Wireless system. This not only violates the terms of license granted by the Posts and Telegraphs Department for the Police Wireless System, but also results in congestion in the Police Wireless grid and consequent delay in the clearance of law and order and really urgent messages. This defeats the very object for which Police Wireless grid has been established and may result in serious difficulties in times of emergency. It is therefore essential that suitable steps should be taken to eliminate the transmission of non-law & order messages which are not urgent. To achieve this end, co-operation is required from all departments of Government and necessary instructions are being issued to them through Home (Police) Department. It is, however, felt that unless the messages received from other departments of Government for transmission over Police Warless System are properly checked at stations of origin this irregular practice cannot be stopped. It is, therefore, requested that the following instructions should be strictly followed in all Wireless Stations in the province under the control of the Superintendent of Police, Wireless, except the Headquarters Station at Calcutta for which separate instructions will be issued:-
Out-going messages
1) No message originated by other departments of Government should be received direct in the Wireless Station.
2) All messages should be received only by the senior Police officer who will scrutinize them and if he is satisfied that the messages are eligible for transmission by Police Wireless will endorse them and send them on the Operator-in-charge of the Warless Station for transmission.
3) A message which is not accepted for transmission should be returned to the originator immediately and if possible through the very messenger who brought it.
4) Messages originated by (1) Commissioners of Divisions, District Magistrates and their Additional Civil Supplies officers of district rank and jail superintendents and 2) Sub-divisional officers including sub-divisional Civil supplies officers should not be so returned without a reference to the 1) Superintendent of Police or his Additional or in their absence the Police officer in charge of the district and 2) Subdivisional Police officer or Circle Inspector respectively.
5) Messages should not ordinarily be received over telephone from other departments of Government for transmission. If in exceptional cases of urgency the originator proposes to relay the message over the telephone the senior police officer present only should receive it and confirm it by giving a ring back. In no case messages should be received by the Wireless Operators direct.
In-coming messages
1) All in-coming messages on receipt will be handed over by the Operator-in-charge to the senior police officer present who will after primary scrutiny arrange for their delivery to the addresses. It is to be clearly understood that the operator in charge of the Wireless Station is responsible only for receiving and transmitting messages and not for their collection or delivery.
2) If after scrutiny a message is found to be of a type not acceptable for transmitting by Police wireless its delivery should not be withheld but a report should forthwith he sent to the Superintendent of Police, Wireless, through this District Superintendent of Police enclosing a copy of the message.
The Superintendent of Police wireless receipt of that report will request the Superintendent of Police of the District from which in originated to make an enquiry and to send a report fixing responsibility for transmission of such a message.
3) Collection of in-coming messages maintenance to other departments of Government is the responsibility of the respective departments. In all places previous arrangements should be made with other departments of Government for periodical collection of in-coming messages from the wireless station by their own men. Where telephone facilities exist intimation may be sent over the phone to the addresses by the senior Police officer for the collection of a message if it is in need of immediate delivery.
B. For the sake of smooth functioning of the Police Wireless grid the importance of the strict observance of the above instruction cannot be overemphasized. All District Superintendent of Police are hereby requested to take steps for the immediate implementation of all these instructions. For each wireless station these duties should be allocated specifically on a senior police officer preferably not below the rank of SubInspector, so that there may not be any difficulties in fixing responsibility for nonobservance of any of the above instructions. At most district headquarters it may be possible to entrust an officer not below the rank of a Deputy Superintendent of Police with this duty.
C. Superintendents of Police should immediately make out an allocation chart of police officer for various Wireless Stations in their district and send a copy of these instructions to the officers concerned who should read the instructions very carefully and implemented them in letter and spirit Names and designation of the officers selected the Superintendents of Police should be intimated to the Superintendent of Police, Wireless direct for record in his office.
D. The Superintendent of Police, Wireless will prepare clear instructions for the guidance of the Operators-in-charge of all Wireless Stations regarding their duties and responsibilities to the implementation of the above instruction and send a copy thereof to all Wireless Stations through the District Superintendents of Police.
By order
G.C.DUTTA
Asstt. Inspr. Genl. of Police
