Proposal to be sent to government for setting up tourist police in U’khand: DGP

The director general of Uttarakhand police Ashok Kumar is an IPS officer of the 1989 batch of the Uttarakhand cadre. Since assuming charge as the DGP in 2020, he has been working on several issues ranging from women’s safety and child beggary to cyber crimes while stressing on victim-oriented policing. He is also an author of various bestsellers that have received accolades from across the country. In an interaction with Purnima Bisht of The Pioneer, the DGP talked about plans to introduce tourist police in the State, the efforts to tackle increasing cyber crimes and future plans to strengthen the Police department and a range of other issues.

The 49th All India Police Science Congress (AIPSC) recently concluded in Dehradun and was inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He talked about the need for qualitative improvement in police training and police modernisation. Did the police reach any conclusions regarding policing which can be implemented here?

Introducing qualitative improvement in police training is a constantly ongoing process. The AIPSC was quite a successful event as several recommendations were made by police officials and associated experts from across the country on various aspects of policing. The Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) will soon send a report based on the recommendations and suggestions of experts in AIPSC to all States. I am sure this report will have a long term impact on policing. We will also follow the Union Home minister’s suggestions regarding policing and try to match his aspirations.

You have been quite vocal about cyber criminals upgrading with time and duping people from across the country and the world. How are police in Uttarakhand keeping up with this?

We are not given any technical manpower so we have to train the existing manpower. We have not been sanctioned with sufficient special manpower and modern technologies to tackle cyber crime and the volume of such crimes is increasing significantly with each passing day. People who are barely high school pass are taking online illegal courses worth lakhs of rupees on how to dupe people by just using their mobile phones. We also continue to raise awareness among people about cyber crimes to ensure they do not fall prey to such criminals.

Uttarakhand is yet to restructure policing considering factors like rise in population and increased internal and external threats. Are there any plans to do so and are you planning to approach the government to increase recruitment in the department?

Restructure of policing is required in many areas like Dehradun which needs a commissionerate considering factors like population and increasing crimes. However, our main concern at present is increasing cyber crimes across the State which cannot be tackled by regular police. Considering this, we have sent a proposal to the State government to establish at least one Cyber Thana in each district. This is the need of the hour. Also, the department does need more police personnel and a commissionerate in Dehradun but we have not given any proposal regarding it to the government yet. It does not appear to be happening anytime in the near future either.

Are you planning to set up a tourist police considering the rise in the number of tourists in the State?

We do not have a separate budget to set up tourist police. We have formed a separate team of 100 personnel at our internal level. These personnel are better with soft communication skills and can speak English and other languages which helps them to assist tourists arriving from across the country and the world. Considering the consistent rise in the number of tourists, we will soon send a proposal to the State government to set up tourist police.

It has been observed that crime against women and children has recently increased in the State. How is the police facing this challenge?

I don’t think there has been a significant increase in traditional crimes against women and children, rather there has been an increase in their reporting in police stations due to awareness in recent times. But yes, crimes against women and children linked to social media, which lead to cyber crimes like cyber bullying and blackmailing through morphed images, have definitely increased.

Most of the criminals caught by Uttarakhand police belong to Uttar Pradesh and other neighbouring States. Is there proper coordination with the police of these states to tackle such criminals?

We never had to face issues in coordination with the police of neighbouring States regarding traditional crimes like theft, murder, robbery etc. However, coordination becomes an issue in cyber crimes which are done from remote areas where people are not ready to coordinate with authorities to nab criminals like in Haryana’s Jamtara and Mewat which are called the hubs of cyber crime.

Communal tension was observed in some parts of the State regarding alleged love Jihad and land Jihad cases. How do police tackle such matters?

The communal tension in Uttarakhand has never been as intense as it has been observed in our neighbouring States. When I was posted in Uttar Pradesh, I once did not sleep for 10 straight nights due to communal tension there. However, we never had to face such conditions here. Even if conditions get worse, we always take preventive measures while staying sensitive to people’s emotions, to ensure issues do not escalate to the level that can disturb communal harmony, law and order. The police have taken action in the cases known among people like love Jihad and land Jihad as per the law.

What is the update on the replacement of revenue police with regular police in the State?

About 4,000 villages in the State’s remote areas are yet to be brought under the regular police system. The administration has already brought thousands of villages under the regular police from the revenue police but we are yet to receive manpower to function there properly. The State government has sought a period of one year from the High Court to bring all areas concerned under the regular police while ensuring all required facilities.

Lok Sabha elections are around the corner. What are the police’s preparations and how do you handle political interference?

We are 100 per cent prepared for Lok Sabha elections. All duties will be carried out peacefully while maintaining law and order in the State. The police will work as per the law and not going to give up to any political pressure.