BANGALORE: Director-General and Inspector-General of Police B.S. Sial has urged the State Government to strengthen the police force by revoking the ban on recruitment of personnel.

In his welcome speech at a two-day senior police officers' conference here on Tuesday, Mr. Sial requested Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh to sanction the posts of 2,003 traffic personnel for the Bangalore City Police. It is needed to ensure smooth flow of traffic.

His other demands were sanctioning of 108 Hoysala vehicles along with personnel for patrolling Bangalore, integrated intelligent signalling and traffic management system to decongest traffic over the next five years, mega-city policing plan, augmenting of civil police by sanctioning 15,040 posts and the armed police by creating 6,744 posts, creation of armed staff for bank currency chests (1,110 posts), raising of India Reserve Battalion, reorganisation and augmentation of the State Intelligence, strengthening of police units in naxalite-affected areas, incentives for the Anti-Naxalite Force staff on a par with the erstwhile Special Task Force and strengthening of security around the Vidhana Soudha, the Vikasa Soudha and the Legislators' Home.

He said there is a 75,000-strong police force in the State. The overall internal security in the State continues to remain under stress, sometimes influenced by the developments in neighbouring States.

Immediate concerns

The immediate concerns of the police relate to the activities of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), organised crime, cyber crime, maintenance of law and order and communal harmony, peaceful conduct of the forthcoming panchayat polls, Datta Jayanti celebrations to be held in December in Chikmagalur and the Mahamastakabhisheka at Shravanabelagola in Hassan district in February next year, he said.

The senior police officers' conference is being held after nearly two years. The last conference was held on January 19 and 20, 2004.

The thrust of the conference is to deliberate on ways and means to bring in greater professionalism in the police, Mr. Sial said.

Naxalite activities

On naxalite activities, he said the State police are fully geared to meet the menace and the Superintendents of Police of the affected districts, supported by the Anti-Naxalite Force, have launched extensive and intensive anti-naxalite operations. In the process, the Chikmagalur district police arrested Kavitha, a suspected naxalite, on November 15 who has provided valuable leads that are being pursued.

The crime situation in the State remains under control. As many as 89,152 cases have been registered till September as against 1,14,440 cases under the Indian Penal Code registered last year, Mr. Sial said.

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