Chandigarh: A total of 590 inputs have been received on the dedicated Anti-Gangster Helpline 93946-93946 under the ‘Gangstran Te Vaar’ campaign since its launch on Jan 21, Gurmeet Singh Chauhan, deputy inspector general, Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF), said on Friday.Chauhan described it as “a significant milestone” achieved through “overwhelming response from the general public”.Of 590 inputs, 83 were related to drugs, 35 to extortion, 43 regarding gangsters, 86 concerning illegal weapons, 74 related to personal enmity, 13 for robbery/theft, 11 regarding Proclaimed Offenders/absconders, and two related to immigration fraud, while 97 were categorised as others, Chauhan said in a written statement.The DIG said proactive participation of citizens and tips from them led to the registration of 63 FIRs and the arrest of 26 individuals, including 21 preventive detentions.Urging the public to make maximum use of the helpline, Chauhan asked citizens to act as the “eyes and ears” of the police. “Not only extortions, but people can report any suspicious gangster, criminal, or anti-social activities using this number. I want to assure the public that complete confidentiality will be maintained,” he said.The DIG also cautioned against “anti-social elements sitting abroad who lure innocent youth with meagre amounts of money to commit crimes”.He advised the public against facilitating financial transactions via UPI or other digital sources for unknown persons. Chauhan also warned against picking up or dropping packages from unidentified locations, noting that criminals abroad were using “dead letter boxes” to deliver weapon consignments for illegal activities.The DIG stated that the AGTF was launching a special campaign to monitor mischievous activities on social media. “We have already got 643 pages blocked across various social media platforms for glorifying weapons or criminal activities. I appeal to parents to remain vigilant about their children’s activities to ensure they are not misled,” he said.Notably, the Punjab Police have already identified 61 foreign-based gangsters operating from abroad. To expedite their extradition, an Overseas Fugitive Tracking and Extradition Cell has been established to ensure these criminals are brought back to face the law.The DIG said the AGTF busted 1,111 gangster/criminal modules and arrested 2,868 gangsters across the state since April 2022, and recovered 2,273 weapons and 656 vehicles used in criminal activities from their possession.MSID:: 129850497 413 |
