Combat communal incidents: Rajnath

NEWDELHI: Asserting that communal harmony in the country was intact, Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday asked state police and paramilitary forces to effectively combat communal incidents that have marginally increased in India.

Singh was speaking at the inauguration of a three-day conference at the BSF academy in Tekanpur, Madhya Pradesh. PM Narendra Modi and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval will also take part in the conference that will be attended by officers of director general of police (DGP) and inspector general of police (IGP) ranks from all states and central police organisations.

Singh spoke about the law and order situation in the country with special focus on Kashmir, northeastern states, and Leftwing extremism.

“He mentioned that while allover communal harmony in the country was intact, there was a marginal rise in communal incidents. The reasons for these are varied such as religious processions and ceremonies, desecrating religious places, illegal construction, slaughter of cows and their illegal trade and land disputes.

“He asked police forces to deal with such incidents effectively and mentioned that the government had recently allocated ₹25,000 crore for modernisation of police forces so that such incidents are effectively combated,” a senior ministry official said.

Other government officials said Singh spoke about the prevailing situation in Kashmir and expressed satisfaction over counter-insurgency operations. He also appreciated the efforts made by the government by initiating a peace dialogue.

The home minister awarded 10 police stations for their performance.

While the top three rank holders were RS Puram police station (Coimbatore City), Panjagutta (Hyderabad) and Gudamba (Lucknow), Delhi’s Kirti Nagar station ranked tenth.