Develop police stations as no-smoking zones: IG

Garhwal Range IG Sanjay Kumar Gunjyal directed district police chiefs to ensure that police stations are developed as no-smoking zones in their respective districts. Apart from this, an awareness campaign should also be conducted through sammelans and drives on Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA)-2003 and drug abuses in their jurisdictional limits. COTPA should be implemented effectively in their districts, he said.

IG said that it has been reported that many youths are dying  while clicking selfis through their mobile phones while standing on the bank of the  rivers in various districts. The district police officers should ensure that a sign board highlighting danger zone for selfi clickers should be installed on the banks to stop the trend of deaths among the youth.

Gunjyal also said that the police chiefs must inform the SP (vigilance) if any Government official is found demanding bribe at the police stations and police posts from the people  who throng to have their grievances addressed. A sign board showing the vigilance department’s helpline numbers should be put up at various places to curb the tendency among the  police officials to demand bribes. Gunjyal further said that police rewards should be announced for the absconding criminals to quicken the process of their  arrest. IG sounded disappointed  over the delay in the arrests of the criminals.

He said that disputes on the sales and purchase  of the lands are on the rise in the mountainous parts of the State. To enhance the skills among the staff to check cases of land fraud, the police officers should send one sub-inspector for a month for capsule training at Range office. He also said the history sheets should be opened for the land fraudsters. Besides, he stressed on slapping   Gangster Act on them.

Illegally acquired property of the offenders should be seized too, he said. A list of land mafia should be prepared and such list should be provided to the Range office. He also expressed disappointment over increasing accidents in the mountainous parts of the State.