Only 17 policemen to handle drug, extortion cases in city

CRUNCH Same team also responsible for Interpol, detection of fake currency notes

NAVI MUMBAI: Navi Mumbai is said to be one of the safest cities in the country for people of all ages. With new residential areas being developed and people migrating from the peripheral areas, the population of the city has reached around 22 lakh.

Surprisingly, to prevent terrorism and extortion and keep a tab on drug peddlers, the city police have a team comprising only 17 members.

The anti-terrorist cell, antiextortion cell and anti-narcotic cell of the Navi Mumbai police are being handled by this team for the past several years. This apart, the same team is also responsible for Interpol and detection of fake currency notes.

T he 17 members of t he team, which works under the city crime branch, include one inspector, one assistant inspector, one sub inspector, 12 constables and two drivers. They operate from a small office located in the MIDC area along the Thane-Belapur Road.

“Earlier, we would also handle the social service department. However now, we have a separate team to take care of that responsibility,” said a team member on condition of anonymity.

The city police receive terror alerts during events such as Independence Day, Republic Day and festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Puja, among others. Likewise, crime branch investigations have revealed several gangs are operating in the city to sell narcotics such as crystal meth, Mephedrone and LSD, among others. They are reportedly trying to target the college students through word-of-mouth publicity, the police said.

Around six months ago, the police arrested eight people from Nerul and APMC, who came to sell crystal meth in the city. “The source of these drugs is a mystery. The first gang, which we arrested f rom Nerul in November, last year, came from Bhendi Bazar in Mumbai,” the official said.

Similarly, extortion has also become a big issue in the satellite city in the past couple of years. “To keep a tab on suspicious people and arrest the culprits needs a lot of effort. A team of 17 people is definitely not sufficient. We hope separate teams will be given separate responsibilities and we will get more manpower in the days to come,” he said.

Fateh Singh Patil, additional commissioner of police, Navi Mumbai, said, “We have set up an anti- terrorism cell [ ATC] at every police station a few months ago. Likewise, antihuman trafficking cells will also be set up soon. The said team is also getting support from the crime branch officials, as they work under the crime deputy commissioner of police.”

“We had just 16 police stations in the city around two years ago. Now, the number has increased to 20. So, our strength is increasing by the day and we will have more people to handle different responsibilities,” he said.