Lucknow: Amit Shah hails hybrid format for seamless intel coordination

LUCKNOW: Union home minister Amit Shah inaugurated the three-day All-India DGP-IGP conference at police headquarters in Lucknow along with home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla and Intelligence Bureau chief Arvind Kumar. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, though present in Lucknow, will join the event from Saturday.
While inaugurating the conference, Shah appreciated the role played by security forces during the Covid-19 pandemic. He stressed on better coordination between state police and other central agencies, while urging delegates to focus on quick implementation of suggestions discussed during the meet. Shah emphasised on the need to zero in on security-related issues, including coastal security, left-wing extremism, narcotics trafficking, cyber-crime and border area management.
He hailed the hybrid format of the conference as directed by the Prime Minister and observed this would help in better dissemination of cutting-edge proposals. He emphasised on reforms at police stations for effective policing.
Police chiefs of states and union territories and director-generals of central armed police force were present at the police headquarters at Lucknow. Around 350 officers attended the session virtually from Intelligence Bureau offices in various states and union territories.
Shah distributed police medals to Intelligence Bureau officers for meritorious service and handed out trophies to station house officers of three best police stations — Sadar Bazaar in Delhi, Gangapur in Odisha and Bhatta Kalan in Haryana. Later, Shah and chief minister Yogi Adityanath went to receive PM Narendra Modi at Amausi airport at night.
Deliberations were held on a wide range of internal security issues, including prison reforms, challenges posed by radicalisation and police training with NATGRID rollout out a roadmap on these issues. The conference is being organised in hybrid mode for the first time.
In the run-up to the conference, various core groups comprising DGPs of different states were formed for holding discussions on key aspects of internal security. This year, for the first time over 200 officers of different seniority were requested to submit papers on contemporary security issues.