At least 200 young recruits from the Police Training Academy (PTA) in Vadodara have come to the aid of the city police following the bomb scare. But this has stalled investigations into many serious crimes . “The young recruits are conducting bomb checks in the city along with the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) on a temporary basis,” said Vadodara Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana. He said these recruits will patrol the sensitive areas in the city. The city police has adopted the measure following a staff crunch. There are 637 vacancies in the traffic department alone. Meanwhile, the BDS has had a harrowing time in the last three days dealing with three bomb scares and attending to about 20 calls a day from different parts of the city. Deputy Superintendent of Police (Anand) Raghavendra Vats said that murder probes such as the one where a 14-year-old girl was murdered at Vidyanagar, are progressing at a slow pace with policemen being posted on the highways in the district. “Although, we are trying our best to nab the killer, the recent bomb blasts have stalled the investigation. Our staff are now manning the streets and the highways,” Vats added.Meanwhile, despite announcements that security arrangements at the Sir Sayajirao Gaekwad (SSG) Hospital in Vadodara will be stepped up by August 2, no additional police force has arrived at the hospital premises yet. The authorities had promised that 55 security personnel, including 25 Home Guards, 20 Gujarat Industrial Security Force (GISF) personnel and 10 in-house hospital guards will guard the hospital.
