Northern states to have nodal officers to tackle crime

SHIMLA - Police departments of northern states Tuesday decided to appoint nodal officers and response teams in each state to counter organised crime and for greater coordination.

The move is part of tackling cases of fake currency, narcotics, wildlife trade and flesh trade in the region.

The decision was made at a meeting of police officers of six states and a union territory held here.

Briefing reporters after the first-of-its-kind meeting, Himachal Pradesh Additional Director General of Police I.D. Bhandari said the states have decided to appoint a nodal officer to coordinate in solving criminal cases that have inter-state links.

There is a need to have a greater coordination of responses and resources among the states. For this there will be a nodal officer of the rank of inspector general and deputy inspector general so that no time is wasted is cracking the case, he said.

Bhandari said ways to strengthen intelligence network and sharing intelligence inputs about criminals operating in the region were also discussed.

He said fake currency menace was a major issue.

The states have decided to tackle the problem by working in close coordination, Bhandari added.

Inspector General A.P. Siddiqui said issues of the security of vital installations, terrorism, internal security and human trafficking were also discussed.

Such meetings would be a regular feature now as this helps in developing mutual trust among the state forces, he said.

Haryana Inspector General Rajbir Deswal said it was a fruitful meeting to understand more about the working of our counterparts.

It provided us a platform to understand the working of the state investigating agencies. It will help to share information about the criminals and their modus operandi, he added.

The officers of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh and hosts Himachal Pradesh participated.