Nagpur: Externment orders in Nagpur are fast turning into a farce. Once considered a key preventive tool in the police arsenal to maintain public order, these directives under the Maharashtra Police Act are now being blatantly flouted by habitual offenders — some of whom return to their home turf within days, commit fresh crimes, and walk out on bail with ease.
Criminals return, and so does crime
Gold Rate
29 May 2025
Between January 2024 and April 2025, Nagpur Police issued externment notices to 183 known troublemakers, a majority timed around the Assembly elections to prevent unrest. But shockingly, 146 of these orders were violated — the accused quietly slipping back into city limits, sometimes even committing serious crimes during their period of banishment.
From murder to rape, several recent crimes have involved externed individuals who had no business being in Nagpur. Law enforcement officials are raising red flags over the futility of the externment mechanism in its current form.
Bail, the weakest link
The challenge isn’t issuing orders — it’s enforcing them. Police have registered cases under Section 142 against violators and arrested 16 criminals in the last three weeks alone. Yet, there’s little to suggest fear of consequences. “We arrest them and they’re out in hours,” said a senior police officer, requesting anonymity. “Sometimes we’re even asked to grant bail at the police station. What’s the point?”
Grave implications
In a number of high-profile cases, the accused were under externment orders when they struck:
• Sitabuldi double murder: The deceased criminal had been externed.
• Murder of Sosha Café owner Avinash Bhusari: Both accused had active externment orders.
• Rape case: The accused, an externed individual, returned and committed the heinous act.
These incidents have intensified public outrage and highlighted the system’s inefficacy.
MPDA: A tool rarely used
The Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities (MPDA) Act allows for up to a year of preventive detention — a potentially powerful response against habitual offenders who flout externment. Yet, despite the spike in violations, the MPDA remains underused. Police say that while externment opens the door for stronger legal action, follow-through is weak.
The current externment framework appears to lack both teeth and follow-up. Without stricter implementation, political will, and judicial backing, the very objective of maintaining law and order through preventive action is being lost.
As criminals return without fear, questions mount: Is this a failure of enforcement, or a systemic legal flaw? Either way, the streets of Nagpur are witnessing the consequences.
