We have humane approach of policing during COVID: DGP
03 Sep 2020 08:38:31
DGP D M Awasthi speaking during the virtual conference.
Staff Reporter :
RAIPUR,
Director General of Police (DGP) DM Awasthi in conversation with Bharat Gornka shared the distinction of being one of the very few states that did not report a single incident of high handedness by police. He emphasised on the humane approach of policing during COVID. He shared a number of initiatives taken by the police including speedy promotions and leading by examples to keep the force motivated. The police chief was speaking during a virtual conference titled ‘Leadership During Crisis: Learning from the Forces’ organized by Cognigix, an end-to-end digital learning firm based out of Mumbai.
The conference was attended by seven of senior officers of Indian Police and Paramilitary Forces. The motive of the event was to pay a tribute to the forces for their exceptionally self-less efforts during the Corona crisis and learn from them. Four serving State DGPs from Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Sikkim and the DG of Railway Protection Force (RPF) along with two former DGs shared their stories and insights during the conference. In conversation with them were thought leaders from industry leaders such as Rashesh Shah, Ronnie Screwvala, and Bharat Goenka. Attended by nearly 5,000 people, this over two hours of inspirational event was witnessed with amazement and immense praise.
Bihar DGP Gupteshwar Pandey stressed that unlike other states he had to use a hard-soft strategy to tackle Corona crisis issues. He explained that it was very important to ensure a balanced approach free of police high handedness and public misbehaviour. He narrated how he personally involved himself in many initiatives undertaken by police in Bihar to prevent the spread of Corona and keep the force safe Kerala DGP Lokanath Behera gave credit to the idea of community policing and public support which became a major factor in making their corona prevention efforts successful.
He also spoke about the use of technology such as drones to spot and warn lockdown violators. DG RPF Arun Kumar emphasized how RPF personnel went beyond their call of duty while safeguarding the railway properties. They distributed over 35 lakhs food packets and other essentials to the migrant passengers, provided safety of camp to people walking back home on railway tracks and converted empty coaches into quarantine beds among many other initiatives.Sikkim DGP A Shankar Rao shared that they started screening for COVID-19 as early as January. International tourists were issued notices to leave.
The whole state was turned into a containment zone and citizens willingly supported the police drives. He shared that interestingly all the pharmaceutical companies in the state were functioning at 80% capacity and no COVID incidents were reported. Both the former DGs addressing the event, K Durga Prasad of CRPF and former DGP of Gujarat and Punjab Julio Ribeiro emphasised the incredible role of police during the Corona crisis. They expressed how police adapted to the new role of managing public health crisis so successfully and won the hearts of citizens.