CHANDIGARH:Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Thursday asked the police administration to maintain law and order and communal harmony in the State besides instilling a sense of security and belongingness amongst the general public thereby making a paradigm shift from the conventional image of policing to people-friendly approach.   
           

On the same time he expected them to deliver the goods effectively because the police force was the only agency that brings bad or good name to any government for their deeds or misdeeds.   He cited the example of Gujarat police where the people even the girls could move freely without any sort of fear and risk to their life even at mid night.  He asked the Punjab police to bring an attitudinal change in their behavior to win over the hearts of the people and this could only be achieved if the communication gap between the common man and the police administration right from top to the level of police station could be bridged. He urged the police force to pay due respect and regard to all irrespective of their position and post in the society.  
           
Outlining the priorities of the government, Badal said that the problem of drugs and narcotics trafficking and drug addiction was assuming an alarming situation and it must be curbed with heavy hand.   He asked the SSPs to evolve an action oriented strategy in unison with Deputy Commissioners to nab the culprits who were indulging in this heinous crime to allure our youth for their vested interests.  

He also informed that the state health department had recently delegated powers of drug inspectors to the senior medical officers at the district headquarters to effectively check the menace of drug addiction, keeping in view the shortage of the posts of drug inspectors which were only 6 in the entire state.   "Free hand would be given to all the police man to discharge their duties in order to check the crime of drug trafficking against humanity which has brought our youth at the brink of disaster", said Badal.  

Likewise, he also directed the officers to take a tough stand against the illegal possessions and ensure that none of the legal occupant of the property was dispossessed.   He also cautioned the officers about subjecting the accused to third degree treatment and that consequently resulted in custodial deaths, which too was nothing short of a crime in the eyes of law and society.  

He also advocated for the respect of human rights and urged the officers to feel the pulse of people even the criminals.  He said that with the advancement of technology and communication skills the perpetration and process for detection of crime had become far more cumbersome and fully appreciated the concern of the police authorities to maintain law and order due to these constants in the changed scenario.   
           
The Chief Minister also directed the DGP NPS Aulakh to set up a special cell to deal with the cases of desertion of married girls at the hands of NRI husbands and the duping of youth by the unscrupulous travel agents.   He said no laxity should be shown in these cases because they had not only ruined the life of our daughters and sons but also finished them morally as well as financially.  
           
Earlier, the DGP welcomed the Chief Minister and put forth certain demands which mainly included the regularization of sanctioned temporary posts from 1988 to 1994 created in order to check terrorism, sanction of force for newly created district SAS Nagar Mohali, regularization of class-IV posts for the armed battalions, setting up of transit accommodation of officers in Chandigarh and setting up of state road safety council. 

In response to these demands, the Chief Minister agreed to grant a sum of Rs.1 crore as a matching grant for setting up transit accommodation at Chandigarh for which the Punjab police had already been allotted a 1.05 acre of plot from Chandigarh Administration and the entire project entailed a cost of Rs.4 crore, of which Government of India would provide Rs.3 crore as it share under the scheme of modernization of police.  

He also conceded the demand of giving mobile phones to the police officers upto the level of SHO to ensure better connectivity and efficiency under the group user scheme.  He also asked the DGP to put up a self-contained proposal for giving accidental insurance cover of Rs.3 lakh to each police man in case of death, under which the state government would provide Rs.7 crore and an equal amount would be paid by the state police with a corpus fund of Rs.14 crore.   On the request of the police officers, Badal agreed to extend the period of sending detailed reply and status report on the queries/representations referred to them during Sangat Darshan from three days to one week.   Aulakh informed in the meeting that DIG crime RPS Brar has been permanently deputed to dispose of the cases and complaints of criminal nature received in the sangat darshan.
  
Meanwhile Advocate General HS Matewal also asked the DGP and IG headquarter to issue guidelines to the field staff to provide proper background material to the court to secure the conviction of the guilty because in many cases due to the want of substantial material the accused managed to get bail thereby giving a jolt to the judicial system.