Himachal Pradesh Chief Minster Jai Ram Thakur today stressed on the need for cracking down on drugs and mining mafias in the state and directed officials to stake steps to refurbish and rebuild the image of police among the people. Chairing a review meeting of the Home department, he said drug peddling was a serious challenge for the police and a concrete plan was needed to tackle it. Asserting that the police need to refurbish and rebuild its image to instill confidence among the people, the chief minister said the image of police has taken a beating after the Kotkhai rape and murder case and the custodial death of one of the suspects. The manner in which some sensitive cases were handled by previous government, gave the police a bad name.
With the change in the government, people have high expectations and the police should act to regain the lost faith of the people, Thakur said. The chief minister stressed on the need for more stringent traffic rules and said drunken driving and use of mobile phones while driving should be prohibited. He said ensuring safety of women was of utmost priority and 'Gudiya Helpline', and 'Shakti Button Mobile App would be launched on January 27. Chief Secretary Vineet Chawdhary, Director General of Police S R Mardi, Additional Chief Secretaries Shrikant Baldi and Manisha Nanda and other senior officers were present at the meeting.
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