Chief Secretary, Alok Ranjan, has issued directions to senior police officers to keep dedicated vigil at all levels to preserve the peaceful atmosphere and communal harmony in the State, so that any small incident did not snowball into a big law and order issue.
``Sensitive places should be identified in all districts, where there was a possibility of assembly of anti-social elements. Such areas should be identified with joint efforts of administration and police in towns, localities and sensitive rural areas by robust police picketing system with information of micro level” Ranjan told here during weekly review meeting on law and order front, on Saturday morning. At the time of police picketing, the police personnel should be briefed about the local information and duty should be specified to take extra care and alertness outside schools, temples, mosques, prohibition on pasting inflammatory posters on their walls and public properties, liquor shops, cinema halls, railway stations, etc. as well as stringent action should be ensured against anti-social elements.
Chief secretary said that atmosphere of communal harmony should be created by regularly calling the meetings of peace committees at district, tehsil and police station levels. He ordered to contact the responsible and persons of repute of every class to gather information on probable incidents which could vitiate the atmosphere and to take necessary precautionary measures to prevent such incidents in view of approaching festivals. He said that if eateries outside liquor shops were being used to drink alcohol, then such trolley-eateries should be removed immediately. He said that if liquor shop owners and licence-holders were found to be involved in facilitating drinking near their shops, then district administration should ensure legal action against them. The district administration has been directed to contact the urban bodies for ensuring proper lighting in residential colonies, particularly in desolate localities.
Ranjan said that system of cluster checking should be introduced in areas, where incidents of women harassment, chain-snatching and robberies were likely take place during the festivals in crowded places. This would aid in monitoring and discouraging the activities of anti-social elements as well as instilling the public faith in security arrangements. He said that reporting system should target and prepare schedule for rigorous watch on anti-social elements for effective and prohibitory action. Concerned Police CO, SDM, Tehsildar, and SO should regularly tour and check the sensitive areas and take reasonable action as well. In case of any dispute officers should strive to make the parties to negotiated settlement or take preventive action, this should be monitored regularly. To prevent any unlawful activity near the places of worship, checking should be ensured during the morning hours.
The meeting was attended by Director General Police, A l Banerjee, along with other senior officers of police and Home Department.