DGP Satish Mathur vows to crush terror network using HumanInt

Healthy Police-Public interaction is key to successful policing, says DGP Satish Mathur 

By Dheeraj Fartode

Nurturing human intelligence network is a key to foil the nefarious designs of terror outfits who are infiltrating the impressionable minds by manipulating social media platforms. Hence, the Maharashtra police has decided to sharpen its skills and penetrate intelligence gathering network into anti-national terror groups. Director General of Police (DGP) Satish Mathur has set the two-fold agenda to counter terror outfits’ agenda that includes -- connecting each household with police and preparing Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for emergency situation.
“As a first step, Maharashtra Police personnel will visit each and every household in their jurisdiction to connect the people to get real-time intelligence inputs from society about anti-social activities. At another level, ATS will be equipped with modern gadgets to counter any emergency situation,” said DGP Mathur.
After becoming chief of Maharashtra Police, Mathur was on his first visit to second capital on Friday. Addressing a press conference at CP office, DGP Mathur said, strategy is ready to counter propaganda of ISIS and it will be implemented soon.
In an effort to improve policing and re-establish their connect with people, DGP Mathur said, “Every police personnel will inquire from citizens about their grievances and leave his/her phone number with them. This baby step will have a huge impact on society. It will not only improve the image of police but also strengthen intelligence network within society,” claimed Mathur.

Secret and open ops against Naxals :- 

DGP Satish Mathur

On the issue of anti-Naxal operations, Mathur claimed upper hand of police over Naxals and announced to launch secret and open operations against Naxals. “Two types of operations would be launched against Naxals -- secret and open. Armed Out-Posts (AOPs) are being increased in the Gadchiroli to enlarge police presence in the area. At the same time, the state police is trying to provide aid to police martyrs, who lost their lives in Naxal operations,” said Mathur.  The state police is procuring new safety equipment including protective headgears and bullet proof jackets for safety of policemen operating in Naxal infested area, he added.

Transparency in policing and improved public delivery :-

Mathur, a 1981 IPS batch officer, will have tenure of 22 months as DGP and his top priorities are -- increasing transparency in policing and improving public delivery along with providing better working condition to police staff. “Transparency would be maintained and increased in the department and public delivery would be strengthened. A meeting of all unit commanders has been called at Mumbai in this regard in which Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will address the top police brass,” said Mathur. DGP has already directed all officers to come in the meeting with their grievances and pending projects etc. Mathur hoped that majority of problems would be solved in the meeting.
On the issue of providing better working conditions to members of police force, the DGP said, many developmental projects have been launched in the state. Mathur, who worked as DG (Housing) for nine months, said, many housing projects have been launched especially in Vidarbha including construction of 384 police quarters at Lakadganj.

No more regular transfers :- 

Mathur has decided to alter current transfer policy in which DG office issues transfer orders twice a month. “This will not happen in my tenure,” claimed Mathur. It may be mentioned that the police department had witnessed never before transfer orders this year. The state DGP office was seen issuing transfer orders twice or thrice in a month.
On the issue of officers reluctant to serve at Vidarbha and Marathwada regions, Mathur who is known for no non-sense work culture confidently said that no transfer order would be cancelled. “If anyone tries to cancel or modify transfer order then he will get show cause notice,” Mathur warned.

Corrupt officers will be monitored :-

Mathur was DG (Anti-Corruption) before taking reins of state police. When asked about corruption in police department, Mathur said that corrupt officers would be kept under watch and such practices would not be tolerated in the department.

Mapping of crime spots :-

On the issue of police response to specific crime spots or dark spots where criminals used to target common man, the state DGP said that the state police is doing mapping of identified crime spots. “The mapping would help easily identify such spots. The cops will also ensure enough lights at such spots with the help of civic bodies and also intensify police patrolling,” said DGP Mathur.

Minimum strength of 72 at each police station : - 

Number of police per lakh population is always a subject of discussion. Without discussing the issue in-depth, Mathur told reporters that the state police have adopted the policy of minimum strength of 72 policemen/officers at each police station. “Enough number of police personnel will be given to all police stations,” he said.
Commissioner of Police Shardaprasad Yadav, Special Inspector General of Police (Nagpur Range) Ravindra Kadam, Spl IGP (SRPF) Prakash Mutyal, IGP ANO Shivajirao Bodkhe, Addl CP Dr Suhas Warke, SP (Nagpur Rural) Anant Rokde and others were present in the press conference.