Known for its famous Ghats, spiritual city Varanasi is visited by pilgrims all though the year. People also go there to immerse the ashes of their loved ones who have passed away. Then, there are the routine tourists as well. With such an amalgamation of people from all walks of life, it is not surprising that criminals are on the prowl looking for soft targets. Petty theft, loot, chain snatching, extortion etc. are quite common. Most of the time, the criminals operate in gangs and their operations include murder and kidnapping also.
Taking note of this, the newly appointed Additional Police Commissioner of Varanasi, Mr. Subhash Chandra Dubey is going all out to keep these gangs in check by enacting the UP Gangsters & Anti-Social Activities Prevention Act. In conversation with Indian Masterminds, the 2005 batch IPS officer talked about his ways to deal with the history sheeters of the district.
INDENTIFYING THE OFFENDERS
Mr. Dubey says, “Varanasi is the constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi which makes it VVIP. Besides that, it is filled with tourists from all over the globe on every single day of the year. So, it becomes a crucial region for maintaining law and order. We have pledged to make it the safest place and, thus, we are taking action against the mafias and the gangs roaming around.”
Till now, his team has identified 102 criminals and arrested them under the ‘Gangsters Act’. Under this act, the offender gets jail for six months to two years.
“We are enacting this Act as we want all the criminals behind the bars. The district should be mafia and gang free. When the trial of this Act starts, all other ongoing cases on the offenders are stopped for a while. This Act gives guarantee of punishment because here the trial is totally based on their previous offences and the witnesses are from police. This way it doesn’t give any reason for the witness to back out due to fear or other reasons,” the officer said while explaining the relevance of the Act.
He also mentioned that Varanasi Police is continuously identifying the criminals and impounding their properties. Their target is to hit them hard on the economic front and weaken them in manpower.
MISSION SHAKTI
Apart from taking strict action against the mafias, Mr. Dubey is also focusing on implementing the phase 3 of Mission Shakti program in the district. Recently, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Yogi Adityanath had announced the phase 3 of his ambitious Mission Shakti Project. The project was started to create awareness among the females about all the helpline numbers including 1090 (UP Women Police Line), 1076 (CM’s helpline), 1098 (Child Helpline), 181 (Women Helpline).
In Varanasi, a team of policewomen are visiting schools, colleges, and marketplaces these days to conduct seminars about these helplines. “The most important part of the mission is women beat constables. Their job is to meet the females who need support and make them aware about their rights and the government programs. These policewomen will also ensure that the needy ones get help. We have ensured inter-departmental coordination to make it a success,” Mr. Dubey said.
Whether it is enforcing Gangster Act or implementing Mission Shakti, the IPS officer is leaving no stone unturned to ensure Varanasi lives up to its name and return to being just a spiritual abode and not a criminals’ den.
