Arunachal CM urges police to help govt in ending 'bandh' culture

Our correspondent

Itanagar: Reiterating his government’s commitment to strengthen the police forces, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Friday exhorted the cops to help the government in ending the bandh culture by implementing the existing laws.

The government will never tolerate bandh culture in the state that has adverse effects on society and the people. It is necessary to put an end to the menace, the chief minister said while addressing the 52nd Raising Day of the Arunachal Pradesh Police (APP) at Indira Gandhi Park here.

“The state police should strictly implement all the existing laws to curb the menace. Bandh is not the ultimate solution to place grievances. Organisations should adopt other means to place their grievances before the government. Bandh has a negative effect on society, and the state incurs heavy losses due to bandh,” Khandu said.

Appreciating the state police for its glorious journey of 52 years through various challenges, Khandu said that the state government in the past nine years had invested a lot to strengthen the police force.

Referring to drug abuse as a curse to the state, the chief minister called upon the police to deal with the menace with iron hands.

“In the last nine years, a total of 1,678 vehicles were provided to the department besides implementing the comprehensive surrender policy. The government has also installed CCTVs in all the police stations and established a battalion of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) at Hollongi where as many as 1100 volunteers were trained to help the government during disasters,” the chief minister said.

He added that seven women police stations are already functional in the state, and more are in the pipeline.

As many as 2,993 posts under various categories were created and the recruitment process completed to strengthen the state police, Khandu said, adding that to boost the morale of the men in uniform, the government had instituted the ‘Arunachal Ratna’ award to honour police officials who make supreme sacrifices on duty by providing ex gratia of Rs 50 lakh.

The chief minister appreciated the state police for peaceful conduct of the recently concluded Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in the state by maintaining law and order besides serving as the first responder during the COVID pandemic.

Khandu added that the state cabinet recently gave approval to change the nomenclature of the Special Investigation Cell (Vigilance) to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to curb and check all sorts of corruption in the state.

SIC being the premier investigating agency of the state and undertaking investigations into all major cases, the change of nomenclature signals the clear intention of the government that there will be a check on corruption and ACB will make sure that the corrupt are caught and punished, he said.

“The cabinet also approved granting special grade to police constable, head constable, and assistant sub-inspector, including MT and telecom wings of the department, to ensure timely career progression by granting honorary promotion in the form of special grade from the level of constable up to sub-inspector in the state police,” he said.

The approval of the proposal will redress the discontentment amongst police personnel who have not been benefitted by promotion for long periods but will also upkeep their morale, Khandu said.

The Arunachal Pradesh Police, with its motto “Satya, Seva, Suraksha” (Truth, Service, Protection), has been steadfast in providing transparent, responsive, and people-friendly policing, he said.

“As we honour their service, let us appreciate the sacrifices made by the police personnel and their families. May their unwavering spirit continue to shine as the protectors of our people and the pride of our land!” he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Home Minister Mama Natung said that the state police is determined to curb the drug menace in the state and has already done a commendable job by arresting drug peddlers and restricting interstate drug rackets with iron hand through its ‘Operation Dawn.’.

“The state police have earned the faith of the people by maintaining law and order to provide safety and security to the people. I called upon the people of the state to join hands with the police to curb the drug menace in order to realise the dream of the chief minister for a ‘Nasha Mukh’ (drug-free) Arunachal,” Natung said and exhorted the cops to work dedicatedly and sincerely to gain public support.

Earlier, Director General of Police (DGP) Anand Mohan, in his address, presented an overview of the state police, including various initiatives undertaken to strengthen the force.

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