1.1 lakh police personnel have been deployed in the State for security during Deepavali celebrations, says Director General of Police

The safety of children, senior citizens and pets should be prioritised by avoiding crackers that produce noise, say C. Sylendra Babu

Director General of Police (DGP) C. Sylendra Babu on Saturday said 1.1 lakh police personnel had been deployed in the State for security arrangements during Deepavali celebrations.

He was speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of a function where recovered properties, including vehicles, mobile phones and gold jewellery, were returned to owners in Vellore range, comprising Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupattur and Tiruvannamalai districts, at the Superintendent of Police (SP) office in Vellore town. “The safety of children, senior citizens and pets should be prioritised by avoiding crackers that produce noise. Rocket crackers should also be burst safely, especially faraway from huts,” Mr. Babu said.

Detailing on the ganja seizures and confiscation of properties of offenders in the State, the DGP said apart from these measures, the police had also prevented history-sheeters from getting bail. In this context, he said bail petitions by 740 offenders in the State had been dismissed, and they had been sent to prison.

Six border checkpoints, especially along Andhra Pradesh, remained vulnerable for ganja offences. Offenders found new methods like couriers, trains and unused village roads to transport the consignment in small packages. “Nevertheless, the war against ganja will be won soon. Our target is to make areas in all 1,484 police stations in the State ganja-free neighbourhoods in the next six months,” Mr. Babu said.

Earlier in the day, he returned recovered items, such as 348 mobile phones, 124 sovereigns of gold jewellery and 101 vehicles, with a total value of over ₹1.9 crore, to their owners. Appreciation certificates were also given out to police personnel who were responsible for recovering the stolen items. Two police stations – Melpadi (Vellore) and Alangayam (Tirupattur) – were also awarded for being ganja-free police station limits. Earlier, the areas under these police stations were prone for ganja sale.

On the occasion, N. Kannan, Inspector-General of Police (North Zone), M. Pandian, Deputy Inspector-General of Police (Vellore range In-charge) and S. Rajesh Kannan, Deepa Satyan, K. Karthikeyan and D. Balakrishnan, SPs from Vellore, Ranipet, Tiruvannamalai and Tirupattur respectively, participated.