Reconnect with people to nail criminals: ADGP

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 19

ADGP (law and order) Rohit Chaudhary today re-launched the beat-patrolling system in order to connect with the people at the ground level and nail anti-social elements besides eradicating drug abuse with the help of the people.

He said the beat system would fix the accountability of the police constables and the beat official of an area. The beat official or the constable would be responsible to maintain good relations with the public by addressing their problems.

Booklets were distributed among the cops which would inform them about their functions and duties. The ADGP said the beat official would note down each and every problem being faced by the people of that particular area and try to find out their probable solutions. He said women cops would also be attached with them so that women could not have any problem to approach them.

Reconnect with people to nail criminals, ADGP tells cops. While emphasising that there was a need to establish a link and reconnect with the people at the ground level in order to nail criminal elements and curtailing drug abuse, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Rohit Chaudhary said the Punjab Police had been taking a number of steps and re-launching the beat system is one such attempt.

“Involvement of people and connection with the youth were necessary for building trust between the police and the public,” he said. He said a reception counter would be set up at every police station in order to guide and help the people approaching the police station with their grievances. He said a woman constable would also be deputed at these counters to address the problem of women coming to the police stations.

He said the Punjab Police was also contemplating to issue naka cards so that the cops deputed at various nakas should have the knowledge that what they were supposed and expected to do at the naka rather than becoming a dumb spectator. He said, besides, the police were also planning to use social mobile groups to connect with the people and know their problems and probable solutions.

On strengthening the investigation system, the ADGP pointed out that he was going to issue a circular for proper functioning of training schools where short-term courses could be run to train police officials to investigate different kinds of cases.

“These schools are there in every police lines but are lying defunct. I am going to issue circulars to all the police district heads to rejuvenate these training schools where senior or retired cops could train the lower ranks,” he added.

On the modernisation of the police, he said CCTV cameras were being installed in major cities and state-of-the-art control rooms with increased telephone lines were being set up.

On countering gangsters who are thriving in the state, he said the Punjab Government was very serious over the issue and plans were in place to nail them. He said the police had made a data bank of all gangsters and their gang members, which would be provided to each police station and cops had been deputed at nakas.

Police-public meeting

Later in the day, ADGP and police commissioner along with other senior cops held a police-public meeting at Guru Nanak Bhawan. People participating in the programme expressed their unhappiness and dissatisfaction over the functioning of the Police Department. They alleged that tourists were chanllaned and harassed by the traffic cops. They alleged that the police usually failed to maintain the secrecy of the names of the informers.

Plans to curb  snatchings

The ADGP said the Police Department took every crime seriously, be it snatchings or gang wars. He said he was aware that snatchings had been one of the major problems of the holy city visited by numerous tourists and devotees. He said he held a meeting with senior police officials and issued some instructions to solve the problem. He said he had asked them to intensify patrolling in the hot spots, which witnessd huge number of snatching cases. He said that he asked them to deploy cops in plain cloths and keep a tab on the habitual offenders.