Pre-poll exercise: Cops go knocking on doors of 347 accused in Meerut
MEERUT: About 150 police personnel knocked on the doors of 347 people accused of different crimes under the Lisari gate police station limits in Meerut on Sunday morning for a scrutiny of their present status ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, the police said on Monday.
Meerut City’s Lisari gate police station is listed among top 10 police stations of the state with a high crime rate.
Circle officer (Kotwali area) Arvind Chaurasia said the police teams interacted with the shortlisted persons, collected information about them and their present profession. They also collected similar information from the family members of those who were not at home, he added.
The special drive was the brainchild of Meerut senior superintendent of police Prabhakar Choudhary. Circle officer Chaurasia executed the special drive with personnel from different police stations.
Chaurasia said the drive was carried out ahead of the forthcoming assembly elections to scrutinise all those who are accused in different cases.
He said the area under Lisari gate police station was taken up first because it is among the top 10 police stations with a high crime rate and the police of different states had also conducted raids in the past to arrest the criminals who were resident of the area.
After discussions, the district control room was directed to prepare a list of people who were accused in different crimes in the past 10 years.
An area-wise list of 347 people with tainted records in the Lisari gate area was prepared.
On the SSP’s direction, 17 teams comprising 150 cops was formed. Each team was led by a sub-inspector.
The teams rushed to the Shyamnagar, Samar Garden, Roshan Garden, Fatehullapur, Tarapuri, Majidnagar, Saath Foota Road, Pilokhari and other localities early Sunday morning and started knocking on the doors of the shortlisted accused.
During the drive, the police teams found 239 shortlisted people at home, 46 were absconding, 10 in jail and four had passed away. No information was available about 48 people. Three people were caught with ganja (cannabis) and sent to jail.
Chaurasia said a majority of these people were accused of murder, loot, robbery, chain snatching, mobile phone snatching and vehicle theft.
“The drive has yielded good results and it will continue to keep a close eye on persons with a tainted record,” said Chaurasia.
He said early morning knocks on the door made the drive more effective because of less traffic and fewer other hindrances during the operation at the time.
Similar operations would be carried out in other police station areas soon to keep an effective check on criminals, he added.