Department of Information and Public Relations

Press Release No. 633/15

CM INAUGURATES CCTV CELL IN TURA

Tura, September 5, 2015: Chief Minister Dr. Mukul Sangma inaugurated the CCTV Cell under the Chief Minister’s Safe, Secure and Most Liveable Towns and Cities Scheme in the Tura Police Station, here on Saturday morning.

Parliamentary Secretary Noverfield R.Marak, Additional DGP, Shillong, Dr. S B Singh, IGP (Operations) GHP Raju, IGP (Western Range), F.D. Sangma, West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner Pravin Bakshi, Superintendent of Police Mukesh Singh, local leaders, hosts of district officials and officials of the police department, senior citizens and students were also present at the inaugural function.

Dedicating the facility to the people of Tura, the Chief Minister said that this was only one component of the Government’s Safe & Secure City programme. “Today we have smart, up-to-date perpetrators of crimes and it is a challenging task for the police to outsmart such criminals”, he said and urged upon the department to take advantage of this technology and incorporate in the process of investigation the pictures which are captured by the CCTVs as circumstantial and documental evidence.

The Chief Minister felt that the investigation of crimes used to be more of a post mortem in nature to take penal action and therefore the deterrence which is so crucial to prevent the incidence of crimes has been missing. He expressed that this facility will definitely be a deterrence and will enable our citizens to self-regulate themselves, because “every advanced and civilized society needs to have citizens who are capable of self regulating and that self regulating comes when people understand that law has its long hands”, he added.

Informing the gathering that the State Government has embarked upon a number of initiatives starting with the police reforms, Dr. Sangma said “I can confidently say that Meghalaya Police is now able to engage in their policing activities without any interference which is crucial for administration of justice and over the last couple of years the police has been able to complete the process of investigation and charge sheeting expeditiously”. Dr. Sangma said that the government, despite many challenges and constraints, has been able to increase the strength of police force within a short span of time, “not only in raising battalions but to fulfill our commitment that the State Police is capable of ensuring the safety perception of the citizens”. He also informed that one programme that is pending consideration and sanction is the strengthening and upgradation of all the police stations. “The government’s approach is that the State will not have so called police outposts in the times to come. We want to ensure that all the POPs are upgraded to police stations and at the same time we would like equip and provide the existing police stations with the kind of manpower that is required to actually respond to the demand of the time”. The Chief Minister also urged upon all senior police officials to ensure that the spirit of selflessness and sacrifice continue to be infused in the minds of the police force, as policing is a difficult and different game altogether and is required to respond 24x7. Despite such challenges it is a good sign that many young potential men and women continue to show their interest in joining the force, he said and recalled the time when recruitment for constables was on, saying that the initial estimation given to the Government was only around 50,000 prospective applicants. “However we ended up distributing almost a lakh of application forms and that is the kind of enthusiasm amongst the youth of the State who are willing to join this organization”, he said.

Earlier, ADGP, Shillong, Dr. S B Singh in his introductory note, said that CCTV facility was important at a time when crimes affect all levels of society and informed the gathering that CCTV cameras were being installed in 15 strategic locations of the town.