Meeting of DGPs, IGPs begins; criminal laws, internal security issues on agenda

JAIPUR: A three-day conference of DGPs and IGPs began here on Friday to discuss internal security issues such as cyber crime and counterterrorism challenges and the implementation of the recently enacted three criminal laws among others, officials said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with the country’s top police officers before addressing them at a formal session, while Union Home Minister Amit Shah is going to be present throughout the conference that will span several sessions.

Technology in policing, left-wing extremism, prison reforms, activities of pro-Khalistan groups and terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir are other key issues to be discussed at the annual meeting, a Union Home Ministry official said.

About 250 officers in the ranks of Director General of Police (DGP) and Inspector General of Police (IGP) are physically attending the conference at the Rajasthan International Centre in Jaipur, while more than 200 others are participating it virtually.

Many officers have been tasked with delivering presentations on specific subjects such as counterterrorism, online fraud, cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, activities of pro-Khalistan groups and left-wing extremism, the official said.

There will be detailed deliberations on how to face all these emerging internal security challenges. Modi will attend the conference on January 6-7, his office said. Further, the conference will also deliberate on futuristic themes in policing and security like the challenges posed by new technologies such as AI and deepfake, and ways to deal with them.

The conference also provides an opportunity to identify tangible action points and monitor their progress, which is also presented before the prime minister every year.

The conference is culmination of extensive deliberations involving police and intelligence officers from district, state and national levels on identified themes, official said.

Best practices from states and Union territories under each of the themes will be presented at the conference so that states can learn from

each other.