34 police outpost sanctioned in border belt: DGP
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, October 19 2023: As part of the government's initiative to check transnational unauthorised immigration and other illegal activities, the state government has sanctioned 34 new police outposts along the Indo-Myanmar border, said DGP Manipur Rajiv Singh.

Addressing a press conference at the police headquarters, Babupara, here, on Thursday, the DGP extended warm wishes to the people on the occasion of celebrating the 132nd raising day of Manipur Police and said that the new 34 police outposts will be set up as soon as possible to check illegal activities along the border.

So far, fencing of 10 km stretch of border has been completed.

Further progress of the fencing work had been discussed with senior officials of the agency engaged in the construction work, chief minister, chief secretary and DGP himself.

At the same time, identification of illegal immigration through biometric capturing is in progress.

He lauded the works done by Manipur police in controlling the crisis that erupted on May 3 even though there were some misunderstanding and miscommunication.

The government has been able to control the situation gradually with the cooperation from central security forces and general public.

The state is now returning to normalcy gradually under the leadership of the chief minister.

The state police and central security forces including Indian Army played major role in controlling the violence and apprehending anti-social elements in both the hills and the valley, the police chief said.

He also said that soon after taking charge as the DGP, he visited various parts of the state both in the hills and the valley, met different people for restoring normalcy as he strongly believes that police and central security forces alone cannot bring a solution to the crisis.

This situation needs a common ground for holding dialogues between the two communities, through which peace can be achieved, he opined.

Commenting on the issue of drug trade, which is a major issue in the state, the DGP underscored the need for active cooperation from people of all communities.

Manipur is one of the most affected states in the country by drug menace and the Central government is giving special focus on the state in this regard.

However, police alone cannot fight the battle against drugs and it will need active support from all sections of the public, he maintained.

Rajiv Singh further informed that a proposal is being drafted for police modernisation, which will include infrastructure improvement, enhancing forensic science equipment, laboratories, and cybercrime assets in order to tackle different issues the state is facing.

An initiative has been taken up to set up a special wing of police for investigative works in line with NIA and CBI.

Officers and personnel in this wing will be provided training on investigative works at premiere institutes so that state police can handle special cases on its own instead of relying on central agencies, he said.

The DGP also informed that Manipur police has been working closely with the public to control the present situation.

He also showed respect to slain police and central security personnel in the present crisis and then appealed to CSOs of all communities to cooperate with the government in resolving the issue and restoring peace and normalcy in the state.

Considering the huge tourism potential of the state, he urged the public to join hands in restoring peace and bring tourism development in the state.

He also encouraged student community to take full advantage of the medical institutes and other technical institutes like NIT in the state.

On the other hand, the present crisis has exposed problem faced by state police due to lack of adequate women personnel.

As such, he had discussed the issue with the chief minister and proposed a recruitment drive for women police personnel, which the CM gave assurance for translating into action.

Moreover, ration money for police personnel will be enhanced from Rs 2000 to Rs 2500 per month.

Besides, the hardship being faced by VDF personnel has been acknowledged and necessary measures will be taken up to address their issues, he added.

Rajiv also appealed to the public to stay away from individuals or groups, who are taking advantage of the current crisis for their personal gain and those trying to mislead the public.

Such people use the general public to further their goal and create unrest in the state.

Public need to identity such individuals and stay away from them, he added.

ADGP (LO) L Kailun, ADGP (intelligence) Ashutosh Kumar Sinha and IGP (administration) L Jayanta were also present at the press conference.

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