‘Focus on foot patrol, gain trust of people’

THE PM MADE SEVERAL INTERVENTIONS DURING TALKS ON POLICING SUBJECTS AT A RECENT CONFERENCE IN MP

NEWDELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked the country’s top police officers to focus on foot-patrolling to deal with crimes effectively and win the people’s confidence.

Modi said this at an annual conference of police chiefs, held between January 6 and 8 at Tekanpur in Madhya Pradesh. People familiar with the deliberations said he made several interventions during discussions on various policing subjects. Three people independently confirmed the details of the event.

“While the Prime Minister was being told about increased police patrolling on vehicles, he intervened to ask questions on foot-patrolling and whether enough emphasis was being placed on it. He said patrolling on foot brings police closer to the public, and helps deal with crime effectively,” an official said on the condition of anonymity.

Presentations were made on criminal justice system reforms; challenges in dealing with leftwing extremism; counter-terrorism strategies for the Indian hinterland; trends in radicalism (with the Popular Front of India as a case study); integrated approach on counter-radical- ism; status of coastal security; how digitisation is changing the face of financial crimes; cybersecurity concerns; challenges for police in terms of cyber-communications; and the aggressive Chinese push in South Asia.

Another official said that while NSA Ajit Doval addressed a session on the various facets of national security, Research and Analysis Wing chief AK Dhasmana spoke on developments in the Afghanistan-pakistan region and their implications for India.

Modi reviewed the creation of a website dedicated to winners of gallantry awards. In another intervention, he suggested the incorporation of a virtual button that can effect a shower of flowers (pushvarsha) on the photographs of martyred policemen.

“While being told about the number of visits registered by the website, the Prime Minister said the figures would be vastly increased if all the 28 lakh constables in the country accessed it,” the official said.