“Chandigarh: To keep an eye on the activities of drones and smugglers in border villages, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has approved ₹20 crore for installing CCTV cameras at key locations, a top police officer said on Wednesday.
Special Director General of Police (law and order) Arpit Shukla also announced that Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav has offered a reward of ₹ 1 lakh for any tip-off on drone movement that leads to the seizure of weapons or drugs.
Mr Shukla, along with the Inspector General (IG) of the BSF’s Punjab Frontier based in Jalandhar district Atul Fulzele, visited Khasa, Amritsar, for a joint review-cum-coordination meeting, as per a statement released here.
The meeting, which was attended by senior officials of the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Punjab Police, focused on enhancing border security to curb smuggling.
The Punjab Police’s DIG, Border Range, Narinder Bhargav, and DIG, Ferozepur Range, Ranjit Singh Dhillon, as well as four other DIGs and four BSF commandants participated in the discussions.
Mr Shukla urged for more collaboration between the two forces to tackle drone operations along the Punjab borders.
He also instructed the senior superintendents of police (SSPs) of border districts to strengthen the police force as a second line of defence that will help in stopping the collection of contraband dropped by drones by criminals.
Mr Shukla also requested the BSF officials to share information on the movements of suspicious persons with the Punjab Police so that they can monitor their activities closely.
The special DGP ordered the commissioners of police and SSPs to increase checkpoints, especially during night time in their respective areas.”
“He also suggested to form village defence committees in the border areas. “These committees will act as the police’s informants and support the Punjab Police’s efforts to eliminate drugs, terrorists, and gangsters from the border state,” Mr Shukla said.”