Chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat asked police to take stern steps to stop criminals from other states sheltering in Uttarakhand to evade arrest. While taking a review meeting with the home department officials at the secretariat on Friday, he said that the police should deal with the hardened criminals and the history sheeters stringently aside from making sure that the criminals lodged in the jails cannot dictate crimes from inside their cells. In case it is found that the jailed criminals are dictating crimes from their cells the jailors would be held accountable, CM said.
Stressing that his government is pretty serious about the menace of the illegal mining, he said that the role of the police on the matter is very important. He said that to restrain such activities, joint teams should be formed involving officers from police, forest and district administration.
While reviewing the performance of SDRF, CM said that equipment should be procured to help the unit work during the night hours too. He also suggested procurement of satellite phones to ensure connectivity with the remotest areas of the state.
While dwelling on the upcoming char dham yatra and kanwad mela, CM said that foolproof arrangements should be put into place to ensure that the pilgrims return as ambassadors of Uttarakhand.
He also said that the police should take every possible step to weed out the menace of drug addiction that is afflicting a large section of the state’s youth. All the rackets engaged in the illegal trade should be eliminated, he said.
Taking cognizance of the police department infrastructure, especially buildings to house the police stations and others , CM asked the police top brass to send a proposal to the government. He asked the principal secretary home to provide funds to complete the under-construction police training college located at Narendranagar.
DGP apprised the CM that currently 26,000 personnel, including 59 IPSs, 98 PPSs, 273 inspectors, 1775 sub inspectors and 17469 constables are working for the department. Besides, there are 156 police stations, 233 police posts and 33 fire stations operational in the state. Three platoons of PAC and two platoons of IRB are also operating in the state.
The state’s top cop further said that the state police budget was Rs 1534 crore for the year 2016-17. In the last three months from January to March, police had lodged 487 cases related to dacoity, loot, theft and murder. Out of them, 280 cases have been cracked so far, DGP told the CM.