Abid Bashir
Srinagar (NVI): The personnel of Jammu and Kashmir police, implementing lockdown in Srinagar, have been away from their families for over one-and-a-half months and working under stress but they maintain their cool while performing their crucial duty of saving lives.
This is thanks to the frequent briefings given to them by their senior officers to remain mentally strong and stress-free on the job.
That’s why there has been no complaint against the police from the public in Srinagar, “barring one incident where a Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) employee alleged that he was beaten, explains Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Srinagar, Haseeb Mughal to NVI.
Mughal said the cops are briefed on moral, physical and psychological grounds.
“We tell them do’s and don’ts. We tell them that whatever you are doing on the ground, that’s for the cause of saving humanity. Earlier, there were only morning and evening briefings, but in times of Covid-19, there are at least four briefings for them every day,” the senior officer said.
The SSP said that the policemen deployed on the ground have high morale despite being away from their homes for almost a month-and-a-half. “We are making day deployments, night deployments and mobile deployments in mobile bunkers. Then in police stations, our SDPOs and other officers use public address systems asking people to stay at home. Those who are still violating restrictions are being dealt with as per the law,” he said.
The senior police officer said so far 130 FIRs have been registered in Srinagar district against the violators of lockdown. “Some 250 people have been arrested so far,” Haseeb said. “We also provide survival kits (ration, edibles and grocery items) to the needy people and so far 400 families have been covered and the process is on.”
Haseeb said that police is also present at the quarantine centers and is actively taking part in contact tracing process. “In Srinagar, every medical team is accompanied by a police team to ensure timely screening of suspects,” he said, adding that majority of people have so far cooperated with police.
The senior police officer said that there has been no complaint from the people against the police so far. “Barring one incident where a Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) employee alleged that he was beaten, there is no complaint against police in Srinagar,” he said.
“We have strictly directed boys to persuade those violating lockdown amicably but there are some fringe elements, who don’t understand and we have acted against them as per the law,” he added.
