Prime Minister Narendra Modi was given an overview of the security scenario, Left Wing Extremism (LWE) and the role of police in enforcing national directives related to COVID-19, on the first day of the annual police conference organised virtually by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) here on Wednesday.
This is the first time since 1932 when the DGPs/IGPs conference is being organised virtually due to the pandemic.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah also joined the conference through video conference and delivered the inaugural address at the IB headquarters.
Three best police stations in the country were awarded on the occasion.
The Prime Minister joined the conference around 5 p.m. and was given a presentation on the “implementation of recommendations of previous conferences”.
After a detailed session on the “national security scenario,” the Prime Minister was briefed on State response to the LWE on successful interventions, strategies and challenges ahead.
A brief session chronicled the role of police during the enforcement of national directives and other safety protocols related to COVID-19.
The Ministry of Home Affairs tweeted, “Union Home Minister @AmitShah addressed the inaugural session of All India DGP/IGP Conference-2020 via video conferencing today in New Delhi. HM has also awarded Police Medals for meritorious service to the valiant officers virtually.”
The chiefs of all the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) such as the CRPF, the BSF, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and those of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the CBI joined the conference. The DGPs of other States and Union Territories joined through video conference. Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla and senior officials also attended it.
The conference will continue on Thursday and Friday and both the Prime Minister and the Home Minister are expected to attend all the sessions.
The Modi government has been organising the conference outside the national capital since it came to power in 2014. The last three conferences were held in Guwahati, Rann of Kutch, Hyderabad, Tekanpur, Kevadia and Pune.
An official said the virtual conference this year has enabled an increase in the participation from all ranks of officials including SP.
“Earlier the Prime Minister attended the conference only on the inaugural day. Since 2014, the PM has attended sessions on all days. Interaction with senior police officers in groups was also started in 2014,” said the official.