Hyderabad: Telangana’s director general of police (DGP) Anjani Kumar on Saturday said that the Telangana police has been among the leading forces in the country since it came into existence in 2014, terming it “has been on a journey in quest of excellence”.
He also credited the state government for giving the highest priority to the police department.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle on an array of issues, the DGP said: “Since Independence, no other state probably has given so much priority to the police department, safety and security of its citizens; the fact that Telangana is No. 1 in the country in terms of having CCTV cameras, is a proof of this.”
“It is the first state in the country to have two dedicated wings to curb increasing drug abuse and deal with the rapidly rising cybercrimes. The state government has allotted adequate workforce and infrastructure to these two wings, and they have started delivering results,” he said.
“These two wings became operational in 2023. They have the best of the officers with them and are continuously upskilling and upgrading their technologies to control the menace of drugs and cybercrimes,” said Anjani Kumar.
Discussing the SHE Teams initiative, Kumar said it was a pioneering initiative of the state government to ensure women’s safety and justice, if they have been victimised. “Several states have adapted this model and formed such specialised wings in their states for women’s safety,” he said.
He said that the TS Police is also implementing 33 per cent women’s reservation, a pioneering move. “This has aided in doubling the women force in the department and in turn, provide an easy access for women citizens to the department,” he said.
Bharosa centres, a one-stop centre to provide medical, legal and psychological support services to women survivors of violence, is another state initiative that is a powerful step in the right direction, towards resolving women’s issues. “The Supreme Court of India has also appreciated this initiative and advised all states in the country to adopt the model,” he said.
He said that the tri-commissionerate model (of Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda) is needed as Hyderabad has the highest urbanised agglomeration, highest digital literacy and subsequently, a high amount of data consumption and data transactions. “As a result, there is a rise in cyber traffic, giving rise to intrusion and penetration by cybercriminals, resulting in the rise in cybercrimes and thereby, the need for more cyber awareness,” the DGP said.
Admitting that all other metropolitan cities in the world face similar issues, he said: “But we have developed a set-up to prevent and detect cybercrimes. Traditional crimes like dacoity, robbery and other offences have declined, but cybercrimes have gone up.”
Further, large-scale awareness campaigns have been taken up at various levels, from schools and educational institutions to government and private sector offices, on cybercrimes and the methods to avoid falling into the trap of cybercriminals, Kumar said.
“In cybercrimes, victims are from Telangana, but criminals are from across the country. To address this gap, a state-level cyber task force is constituted to coordinate with police in other states and other agencies. A cyber-lab, which is also a first-of-its-kind in the country, is aiding the police with various analytics to prevent and detect cybercrimes,” he said.
“We are also focussing on training our officers regularly with latest developments,” Anjani Kumar said.
