Police commissionerate in Shimla, Dharamsala a priority: DGP

Addressing the immediate humanitarian crisis arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic, de-stressing the police force, tackling drug menace and refurbishing the image of the police tarnished after the Gudiya rape and murder case are the priorities of new DGP Sanjay Kundu, who is strongly in favour of introducing the police commissionerate system in Shimla and Dharamsala.

Policing is all about team work and, the new DGP says, it will be his endeavour to make the police a winning team by focusing on ‘low hanging fruits’, ‘small wins’ and develop confidence among police personnel to make big wins happen. Efforts will be made to interact with politicians, former DGPs and other stakeholders and get feedback about their expectations from the police. The excerpts from the interview with The Tribune correspondent Bhanu P Lohumi:

Drug trafficking and consumption of narcotics synthetic drugs is a serious problem which has become graver due to smuggling of chitta and synthetic drugs into the state. My strategy to address the problem will be to develop robust intelligence, crime mapping and network tracing and undercover operations to catch big fish, professional investigation and seizing the properties of criminals to make them fear the law.

Do you propose to introduce police commissionerate system?

I see strong merit in it and a large number of states have implemented it. I will strongly request the government to introduce the system in Shimla and Dharamsala. It will help in addressing the problems of traffic, security, public order and crime in the towns.

The image of police was tarnished after the Gudiya rape and murder case. How will you refurbish it?

There is no substitute for hard work and my directions to all SPs will be to focus on professionalism, maintain high integrity and respect diversity. Then results will follow.

Crime against women is on the rise. What measures will be taken to reverse the trend?

I will ensure that no crime against women goes unregistered, undetected and unpunished. Sexual offenders’ profiling, investigation, monitoring, better first response action, visit to the crime spot and regular monitoring of cases are a must to minimise the crime.

The police force is under immense pressure of work, especially in times of the Covid outbreak. How you propose to de-stress the force?

Only physically, mentally and emotionally healthy and fit police personnel can contribute to the well-being of society. Young people will be recruited and annual medical check-up of the force (about 18,000 in the state) will be essential. Steps will be initiated to ensure regular exercise and nutritious food to police personnel. They should also have time to spend with their family which is the biggest stress buster.