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Surveillance along Bangla border to get boost: DGP

By R Dutta Choudhury

GUWAHATI, Jan 1 - Guarding of the international border with Bangladesh is likely to see some improvement in the New Year with the State Government contemplating to create a strong second line of defence, while the Assam Police is also planning to make efforts to bring the men in uniform closer to the common people.

Talking to The Assam Tribune, Director General of Police Mukesh Sahay outlined the priorities of the police for the year 2017 and revealed that around 4,000 personnel would be recruited to create a strong second line of defence. The recruitment process is likely to be completed in the financial year 2017-18 and in each of the four districts bordering Bangladesh, the personnel of the force would work under a commandant so that the district superintendents of police are not overburdened. Though the main responsibility of guarding the international border with Bangladesh will rest with the Border Security Force (BSF), the personnel of the second line of defence would definitely improve border management, Sahay said.

The DGP said that dealing with militancy would remain a prime focus area of the police. He pointed out that though militancy is down, it is not out. He admitted that with the Republic Day and Manipur elections approaching, the police and security forces would have to remain on their toes to deal with militancy. With the militant groups of the Northeast joining hands, the police and security forces would have to keep a close watch on the situation. �In the past also, we have seen militancy going down, but on several occasions, the militant groups managed to regroup. We must keep a strong watch on the situation till militancy is completely finished,� he added. He said that efforts are also on to improve coordination with the police forces of the neighbouring states and senior officers would be sent to the states to discuss the issue.

The DGP admitted that road accidents have become the biggest killers and dealing with the issue is one of the major challenges before the police. He said the increasing number of road accidents has become a major concern all over the country and police alone would not be able to deal with the problem. There is need for coordination among all the concerned departments in this regard, he added. Sahay also said that traffic management has become a major challenge in Guwahati city and allout efforts would be made to improve the scenario.

The DGP pointed out that cyber crime has also become a major problem, more so with increasing number of people opting for digital payments. He said that efforts are being made to set up new labs to investigate cyber crimes, not only in Guwahati but also in other parts of the State. He said that the Chief Minister has also accepted the need for improving the forensic science labs to deal with cyber crimes.

Sahay revealed that in the New Year, efforts would be made to strengthen the village defence parties (VDPs) and the role of the VDP would be expanded. He said that a training course for the VDP members would start soon so that in addition to the traditional roles, these personnel can help the other law enforcing agencies in areas like human trafficking, witch hunting, drug abuse, etc. �We are also trying to register all the unregistered VDPs, while stress is also given on participation of more women in these bodies,� he added.

Sahay said that efforts are being made to improve police-public relations to prevent crimes and the social media is also being used in this regard. However, he lamented that though the Assam Police has launched online citizen-centric services in Guwahati city, the response from the people is not very encouraging so far. He appealed to all sections of people to make full use of the services.

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