Prioritise Women’s Safety in Vizag Range, Anitha Tells Police
Minister Vangalapudi Anitha reviews law and order in Visakhapatnam range, outlines strong action on women’s safety, narcotics, and cybercrimes.
Visakhapatnam: State home minister Vangalapudi Anitha on Wednesday asked police officers across the Visakhapatnam range to prioritise the safety of women and girls and take decisive action towards stopping atrocities against them.
She attended a review meeting at the Srikakulam district police office, where Srikakulam SP K.V. Maheshwara Reddy presented her the crime statistics related to women and girls, including POCSO cases, drug cases like ganja, and using technology in investigations.
Range DIG Gopinath Jatti informed the minister that the state government is prioritising quick punishment in crimes against women and girls, eradicating marijuana, preventing road accidents and addressing cybercrimes.
On her part, the home minister informed that the police department will be provided all basic facilities in a phased manner to better serve the public. These include vehicles, fingerprint devices, CCTV cameras, and drone cameras.
She suggested that police officials conduct self-defence training classes for students in government and private schools through Shakti teams and set up drop boxes to report crimes in case complainants want anonymity.
Anitha instructed police to organise continuous vehicle checks in border areas to prevent illegal trafficking of drugs, particularly marijuana. She directed that CCTV cameras be installed in schools, housing complexes and rural areas to enable quicker crime detection and investigation.
Briefing media later, the home minister asserted that there is a significant improvement in the law and order situation in Andhra Pradesh.
She emphasised that law and order is under complete control, even though the coalition government took office just nine months ago. She underlined that criminals are now being apprehended within 24 hours of crimes being committed.
Anitha specifically pointed to strict action being taken in POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) cases, with measures being implemented to prevent accused from obtaining bail in 20 cases registered in Vizianagaram district alone.
Regarding Srikakulam district, she acknowledged an increase in property crimes but praised the police for resolving the cases quickly.
The minister outlined comprehensive measures against narcotics, particularly targeting ganja (cannabis) cultivation in the Paderu and Manyam regions. “The government is implementing a multi-faceted approach that includes confiscating assets of those involved in drug trafficking and using Preventive Detention (PD) Act against individuals cultivating, smuggling, or purchasing ganja.
