Pune: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis urged Pimpri-Chinchwad police to adopt modern technologies to strengthen crime prevention and detection, warning that the rapidly expanding industrial township could have a larger population than Pune over the next 15 years.The state govt has provided 65 new vehicles, four drones and 350 body-worn cameras to the Pimpri Chinchwad police. After handing over the 7/12 land extract of the 50-acre plot at Tathawade to the police department and laying the foundation stone for the construction of the Pimpri police commissionerate, Fadnavis said Maharashtra Police ranked first in the country in terms of responding to emergencies.Fadnavis was speaking after inaugurating various projects of the Pimpri Chinchwad police commissionerate.Union minister of state for aviation Murlidhar Mohol, deputy chief minister and guardian minister Sunetra Pawar, deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, higher and technical education minister Chandrakant Patil, minister of state for home Yogesh Kadam, minister of state Madhuri Misal and Pimpri Chinchwad police commissioner Vinoy Kumar Choubey were present on the occasion.Fadnavis said, “Collective efforts are required to protect youngsters from substance abuse,” saying the govt had set a target of making the country drug-free within the next three to four years. Fadnavis urged citizens, parents and institutions to participate in the drug-free campaign and make their neighbourhoods, villages, district and cities, and ultimately, Maharashtra drug-free. “The drug menace is aimed at weakening the potential of the country’s youth and ultimately hampering national progress. Every section of society must participate in this campaign to protect the younger generation,” he said.Fadnavis said, “The govt is working on several fronts, including awareness programmes, treatment and rehabilitation of addicts, curbing drug production and dismantling distribution networks.”He said, “The police in Maharashtra have always responded promptly to emergency situations, making the force the best in the country. Police will have to adopt technological solutions for policing, and dial 112 emergency response system has reduced police response time to three minutes, and Pimpri Chinchwad police ranks first in the state in this regard.”Fadnavis also inaugurated the office of the deputy commissioner of police (zone IV). The independent CCTV and Integrated Traffic Management System (ITMS) projects were also launched. He also said work was under way to develop AI as an assistant for the police machinery and that investigations into all crimes would be entirely AI-based in the coming years.Officers and personnel of the police commissionerate contributed one day’s salary towards relief for drought-affected people in the state, raising Rs 1 crore for Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.Police commissioner Choubey said the growing population of Pimpri Chinchwad and the changing nature of crime had increased the challenges of maintaining law and order in the city. The commissionerate now has two additional commissioners of police. The number of deputy commissioners of police has increased from three to nine, while the number of assistant commissioners of police has gone up from eight to 18. The number of police stations, including an independent cyber police station, has increased from 17 to 25. A separate zone has also been created to ensure the security of the industrial area.
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