The newly appointed Dehradun superintendent of police (Crime), Tripti Bhatt said that police patrolling has been intensified on the outskirts of the city as well as the rural areas with the possibility of a spurt in crimes by those taking advantage of winter fog.
An officer of the Indian Police Service 2013 batch, Bhatt, who is the first SP (crime) of the Dehradun district, said that she has been assigned to deal with heinous crime cases happening in rural and city areas. “I have been exempted from some duties like those related to VIP security and protest rallies. I am, however, having charge of police lines and SP office,” she said.
She further said that as per the statistics, cases of burglary and theft rise significantly during the winter days. “The locked houses and those located in secluded locations in various towns including Mussoorie, Rajpur, Vikasnagar, Rishikesh, Raiwala, Patelnagar, Doiwala and Premnagar become vulnerable. We are thus taking initiatives to give the people protection from such crimes. What happens is that the miscreants target such places, taking advantage of lax security. But this time, we are doubly alert. Police would conduct surprise inspections from time to time to make the presence of the police felt effectively,” she said.
Bhatt said that during her recent interaction with police station officers, she had directed them to intensify patrolling in their jurisdictional limits to ensure that the policemen deputed on night duties did not neglect their duties. “There are many instances of the policemen skipping night duty during the winter months. In view of this, the circle officers have been directed to monitor things to prevent such police personnel from playing truant with night duty,” she said.
“I have also directed the police officers to frisk and question any suspicious looking person found loitering along during the night hours. Their addresses should be jotted down. The same is true of the drunks or other persons creating nuisance for others. They should be immediately challaned under Police Act. Vehicle checking drives should also be launched at important crossings at night. Stringent action would be taken against the persons indulging in drunk driving. Besides, the policemen caught napping during duty hours, will also be punished,” she added.
“We would not listen to any excuse and come down heavily on the errant policemen found neglecting their duties. Cold conditions would under no circumstances be allowed to be cited as an excuse for lowering the guard,” she warned.