Delhi Police chief asks officers to verify credentials of Bangladeshis

New Delhi: In view of the upcoming Independence Day celebrations and developments in Bangladesh, Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora on Wednesday asked the officers of his force and those from the neighbouring states to verify the credentials of the Bangladeshis staying in the National Capital Region and involved in crime, official sources said.

The police chief asked the officers to find out from the motor workshops and garages in their areas if any vehicle has been modified in the last 10 days. They were also directed to find out from courier companies about deliveries made to non-specific addresses in the last two months, the sources said.

Arora held an inter-state coordination meeting at the Delhi Police headquarters with police officers from Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Rajasthan, Chandigarh and Jammu and Kashmir in view of the upcoming Independence Day celebrations on August 15.

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Laying stress on the importance of inter-state cooperation, the commissioner said a drive should be launched to trace recently-released criminals, the sources said.

All the released criminals with a terrorist or radical background need to be closely monitored and smuggling of firearms needs to be prevented, Arora said.

He said smuggling of firearms remains a priority area for which the ground-level staff needs to be well briefed and the records of all arms dealers need to be checked to avoid pilferage, the sources said.

The commissioner stressed the importance of quick information sharing, so that speedy action can be taken. He directed to check all motor workshops to find out if any vehicle has been modified in the last 10 days and also to share the motor vehicle theft database with neighbouring states.

Arora asked the officers to find out from courier companies about deliveries made to non-specific addresses in the last two months. He also asked them to verify the credentials of Bangladeshis staying in their areas and involved in crime, the sources said.

The commissioner emphasised on meetings of officers at the level of assistant commissioner of police and station house officer with their counterparts from neighbouring states for the prevention of organised crimes.

He appreciated the cooperation extended by the police forces of the neighbouring states.

During the meeting, the officers from the other states shared terror-related intelligence inputs and talked about anti-terror measures, including checking at borders and verification of suspicious elements, the sources said.

Issues related to the movement of paragliders, drones and other flying objects in open areas were also discussed.

Advance information about the movement of any suspicious elements or vehicles was stressed upon. Inter-state gangs operating in the NCR and incidents related to the supply of illegal firearms and narcotics were also discussed, the sources said.

The officers present at the meeting lauded the coordination efforts of the Delhi Police and resolved to have increased support for policing in the NCR, with an emphasis on real-time sharing of relevant information and close interaction at all levels in order to ensure peaceful and incident-free Independence Day celebrations.