Vizianagaram to be made crime-free

CCTV cameras at important places in district: Grewal N No Maoist-related incidents in 2014

Vizianagaram: All measures are being taken to curb crimes in the district, Vizianagaram Superintendent of Police Navdeep Singh Grewal said on Tuesday.

Briefing the media on the performance of the Police Department in the district during 2014 and the measures being planned for the coming year, Mr Grewal said CCTV cameras would be installed at various important places in the district in the coming year. He said there was a need for one more Clues Team for Vizianagaram and a proposal to this effect was sent to the government for sanction.

The Superintendent of Police said there were a number of Maoist sympathisers on the Andhra-Odisha Border (AOB) and the Odisha police recently arrested six sympathisers. Discussions were being held with the Superintendents of Police of Rayagada, Narayanapatnam and Koraput districts in Odisha, he informed.

The Vizianagaram police, in coordination with the Odisha police, was maintaining strict vigilance on the Maoist activities in the AOB areas, Mr Grewal said. Special programmes were being taken up to ensure that the tribal youths were not attracted by the Maoist ideologies. There were no Maoist-related incidents in the AOB during the year 2014, the SP said.

Special focus was being laid on highway patrolling and three vehicles were being procured for this purpose, Mr Grewal said. Global Positioning System (GPS) was introduced in night beat system from November 2014 onwards to reduce property offences in Vizianagaram town and this has yielded good results, he said. This system would be introduced to the entire district, he said.

Referring to crimes in Vizianagaram district during 2014, the Superintendent of Police said a total of Rs 1.9 crore was stolen in the district during the year under review. Of this, Rs 1.06 crore was recovered. A special team comprising personnel of the Special Branch was constituted to prevent gambling. To discourage drunk driving, such cases were being dealt with severely by imposing hefty penalties on the culprits, he said. Mr Grewal urged the people not to drive vehicles after consuming liquor during the New Year celebrations.

Regarding labour unrest, the Superintendent of Police said 14 industrial issues were raised due to labour unrest in industries like Ferro Alloys, jute and sugarcane. Of this, 11 issues were solved in an amicable manner by the timely action of police. Programmes would be conducted in the colleges to create awareness among the students on Indian Penal Code (IPC), he added.

Additional Superintendent of Police Ramana and six Deputy Superintendents of Police were present.