Naxalism Conclusively Over, Cybercrime and Narcotics Are New Challenges: Union Home Secretary

Hyderabad:Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan on Saturday said the conventional internal security landscape, which the country has grappled with over decades, has changed irrevocably, while narcotics, cybercrime, illegal immigration and others have emerged as new challenges.

Union home secretary Govind Mohan identified narcotics, cybercrime, terrorism, illegal immigration and technology-enabled criminal networks as major challenges facing the next generation of police officers, adding that conventional internal threats like militant naxalism had come to an end although terrorism continues to posed a threat.

“Militant Naxalism has conclusively come to an end. Insurgency in the Northeast has reduced to minuscule proportions. What is happening in certain parts of the Northeast is not insurgency. It is largely ethnic conflict. Otherwise, through a series of ceasefire agreements, suspension of operation agreements and tripartite agreements, most of the erstwhile insurgent groups have joined the peaceful mainstream,” Mohan said.

He was speaking after reviewing the passing-out parade of 151 officer trainees of the 78th Regular Recruit batch who completed 45 weeks of training at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA) here on Saturday. He asked them to place their responsibilities towards citizens first.

Cybercrime presented another challenge as mule bank accounts, fake SIM cards and digital tools made offences easier to commit and harder to trace. Mohan said criminals were using virtual private networks to conceal their locations, cryptocurrency exchanges to transfer illicit funds abroad and the darknet to arrange criminal activities.

Mohan also read out a message for the probationers by the Union home minister Amit Shah, who called for sensitivity in the exercise of police powers. “Humility in service, restraint and loyalty to the Constitution will be your greatest strength,” the message said. Shah referred to the three new criminal laws, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, and called upon officers to combine modern investigative techniques and forensic science with human sensitivity.

Academy director Sujeet Pandey detailed the instructions provided to probationers in these areas. The curriculum covered the three new criminal laws, forensic evidence, time-bound investigations, cybersecurity, digital arrest scams, cryptocurrency fraud and artificial intelligence. The academy's CyberXlab provided training in emerging digital threats, while investigation exercises concentrated on the practical application of forensic science and technology.

The home secretary said the ministry had established a network of young IPS officers working on artificial intelligence. He asked probationers from arts, humanities and other educational backgrounds to acquire technological skills, as State police forces and Union Territory administrations would have to deal directly with much of the growing cybercrime problem.

Mohan referred to the Sabha Parva of the Mahabharata, recounting sage Narada's advice to Yudhishthira on dealing with people seeking help. “The attitude which you have to display has to be bereft of moh, which is attachment, of lobh, which is avarice or greed, and ahankar, which is a feeling that you are bigger than them,” he said, asking the probationers to carry these principles into their dealings with citizens.

DGP C.V. Anand, Union home special secretary Anand Swaroop, National Crime Records Bureau director Amit Garg, joint secretary Neeraj Kumar Bansod, Maldives police commissioner Ahmed Mohamed, senior Nepal police officer Dinesh Kumar Acharya, and former SVPNPA directors Kamal Kumar and Aruna Bahuguna, besides senior police officials and representatives from Bhutan, attended the ceremony.