Punjab Director General of Police Police has issued strict directives to the field officers to step up their crackdown on the activities of gangsters and drug smugglers, making it clear that they would be held accountable for any activity of drugs smuggling in their areas.The directives were issued at a meeting of all SSPs/CPs, Range IGPs/DIGs and other senior police officers at Punjab Police Academy, Phillaur, on Friday.The meeting was convened by the DGP to review the current security scenario, and the law & order situation in the State. Issues relating to terrorist activities, radicalization of youth for anti-national activities, action against drug smugglers, gangsters etc. were on top of the agenda.Reviewing the action by field units against drug smugglers, the DGP issued stringent instructions for all field officers to ensure that supply lines of drugs in their respective areas are completely plugged. Citing the Captain Amarinder Singh led government’s zero tolerance policy toward drugs, the DGP warned against any complacency on the issue.The DGP told the officers in unequivocal terms that the field officers at various levels will be held accountable for any activity of drugs smuggling in their respective areas.
The DGP also listed out the major seizures of various drugs by different units of Punjab Police, calling for strengthening the crackdown on drug peddlers and smugglers.He ordered all field officers to carry out systematic financial investigations into illegally acquired assets and properties by such smugglers and initiate the process of seizing them.The field officers were further asked by the DGP to identify habitual offenders of drug cases and to initiate proceedings of “Preventive Detention” under provisions of Prevention of Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988, against them.He also asked them to launch vigorous publicity campaigns against drugs by involving NGOs, members of the civil society, Panchayats, educational institutions etc., besides proactively engaging with youth to check the menace of drug abuse.Taking stock of the activities of radical groups and terrorists in the state, the DGP asked the field officers to work proactively to educate youth about the sinister designs of anti-national elements trying to foment trouble in the State.Underlining the need for strict vigil against the activities of such elements, he directed the officers to initiate measures to educate people about their evil designs. He warned the officers against the misuse of social media by such elements for propagating material for radicalization. The DGP also ordered the officers to take all possible steps to check the activities of the gangsters in an effective manner and pursue strict legal action against them.The DGP further reviewed the progress of implementation of the Nation-Wide Emergency Response System, which is being implemented in Punjab by C-DAC, Govt. of India. With implementation of this project, the response time of Police to any distress call will be reduced significantly, he said.Hardeep Singh Dhillon, IPS, DGP (L&O); Dinkar Gupta, IPS, DGP (Intelligence); M.K. Tiwari, IPS DGP (Administration); Parbodh Kumar, Director/BOI; and Ishwar Singh, IPS, Addl. DGP (Law & Order) were among the senior officers present at the meeting.