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An exemplary first year as DGP for Ashok Kumar

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By ARUN PRATAP SINGH

DEHRADUN, 30 Nov: It has been an excellent and probably satisfying first year in office as Director General of Police (DGP) for Ashok Kumar, who completed his one-year tenure as DGP today. There is no doubt that Ashok Kumar has made exemplary efforts during his first year as DGP to bring a positive change not only in the image of the state police but also in its working. In a way, the department is being overhauled by the current DGP who has been very active and very pro-people during his stint as the head of the state police department in last one year. When he took over as DGP, Ashok Kumar inspired the directed the state police force to focus on Victim-centred policing, so that immediate justice could be provided to the victims. He had been constantly reminding that Whoever came to the police station, poor, helpless, victims, they ought to be given immediate protection and justice be ensured to them. In fact, Ashok Kumar has visited all the districts of the state and established coordination and communication between the public and the police. Kumar also initiated hearing of complaints through video conferencing. In fact, out of 11560 public grievances received through various channels, 10503 complaints have already been resolved. That the Police did pay more attention towards victimcentric policing in past one year is evident from the data. Out of 12,311 cases registered in the year under review, a total of 23,792 accused were arrested by unveiling 10,653 cases (87 per cent), out of which 109 were wanted criminals, who had awards on their heads. During this period the percentage of recovery of looted and stolen property increased from 60 to 70 percent and our workout in serious crimes is about 90 percent, which is one of the best in the country. In the last one year, special campaigns were conducted in the state in the month of December 2020 and in the month of August, 2021 for the arrest of wanted criminals. Action was taken against 142 accused under Gangster and Goonda Act. It may be recalled that Uttarakhand has topped the NITI Aayog’s SDG India Helpline number 155260 was issued for cyber fraud and a total amount of about Rs 7 crore was returned to the victims in a year. 17 accused were arrested fromcyber crime hubs Jamtara and Mewat. Action was also taken on 6 Call Centres which were found to be making illegal recovery by making fraudulent calls from abroad. It also goes to the credit of the state police that Uttarakhand is the first northern state to organise cyber hackathon at the national level. Effective action by STF against organised crime being committed by criminals from Almora, Tehri, Haridwar Jail. Cyber police station was started at Pantnagar, Udhamsinghnagar for Kumaon region. Taking effective action in respect of drugs menace, a total of 1,747 accused were arrested in 1,497 cases and narcotics worth about Rs15 crore 72 lakh 33 thousand were recovered from them. Along with this, STF went to Bareilly and took action against Smack dealer Rizwan and got his property attached. Kumar reminds that Women’s help desks have been set up in every police station and that due priority has been given to women’s safety.

Pics courtesy: Kamal Sharma

These desks have been set up for speedy action on women related and other complaints received. In order to effectively control crimes against women, a comprehensive campaign Mission Gaura Shakti was launched, under which preventive action, public awareness, training for selfdefense, further strengthening of grievance redressal mechanism as well as online registration of women’s complaints. For this ‘Gaura Shakti App’ has also been launched. The campaign has been ranked by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) in its 2021 edition of BEST PRACTICES BY POLICE IN STATES & UTs ON WOMEN & CHILD SAFETY. Another praiseworthy initiative taken during past one year under the leadership of Kumar has been special missions to ensurethe safety of the children. Operations like “Operation Smile” to find the missing children were carried out by the police, “Operation Mukti” to free the children from begging, which were successful in their objectives. Under Operation Mukti, 1,430 children were connected to education. For the prevention of human trafficking, 6 new anti human trafficking units were established in Tehri Garhwal, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, UdhamSinghnagar, Bageshwar and Almora districts. One major action taken under Kumar’s tenure has been fixing the accountability of the police towards the public. During past one year, action was taken against 308 police personnel in which 290 personnel were suspended, 14 personnel were placed on line and 4 police personnel were dismissed. Organising Mahakumbh 2021 was a big challenge in the midst of the global pandemic Corona. During all the important bathing festivals, the Director General of Police, Uttarakhand, himself led the force, and was present on the spot and he took stock of the security arrangements and kept the police force motivated. A commendable work was done by the officers/employees of Uttarakhand Police in the control of Covid-19 pandemic without caring for their lives. The guidelines issued in this regard were strictly followed with humility. During this, many police officers and employees got infected with the corona virus and 13 policemen lost their lives. During the second wave of corona infection, a total of 2,726 people were given oxygen cylinders, 792 people were provided beds in the hospital in coordination with the hospital management, plasma/blood donation to 217 people, medicines to 17609 people under ‘Mission Hausla’, a campaign launched to help the needy during the second wave of corona infection. More than 600 people were helped in getting ambulance facility. A total of 94,484 people were assisted by rationing, milk and cooked food, cremation of 492 corona infected and contacting 5252 senior citizens. Traffic i-App was launched, so that the general public can also upload the information of traffic rule violators on the app and get them challaned. Facility to apply for Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) on Citizen Portal of Uttarakhand Police and Mobile Application Devbhoomi Mobile App. In order to increase the Happiness Quotient of the policemen, the Police Personnel Grievance Redressal Committee (PPGRC) was constituted at the headquarters level to transparently dispose of their departmental and personal problems. A total of 2562 complaints/problems have been received so far, out of which 2075 complaints/ problems have been resolved. As the DGP, Kumar has also given due attention towards welfare of the Police personnel and their families. Construction of smart barracks for personnel in police stations, outposts, police lines were ensured. Weekly rest facility was granted for chief constables and constables appointed in all districts. A total of Rs1.72 crores life saving fund has been provided to 49 personnel. By amending the transfer policy of nongazetted police officers, the appointment period in the hill district was halved. The promotion process which has been stuck for a long time has moved ahead. In order to promote local production, instructions were given to prepare Uttarakhandi food (Garhwali/Kumaoni cuisine) once a week in district units, police stations/outposts and eateries running at detachments. Among the special challenges unique to some hill states, Uttarakhand Police has also to deal with the disaster relief and rescue. In the recent disaster in Kumaon region, Uttarakhand Police did everything possible to help the people and saved the lives of people even by risking their lives.