Police who are still pro-YSRCP can step away: Home minister

Visakhapatnam: Police who are still hand-in-glove with the YSRCP can either give up such attitude or step away from their posts so that more capable police personnel can be given an opportunity to serve society, Minister for home affairs and disaster management Vangalapudi Anitha gave a ‘sweet’ warning to the police.

Going forward, there won’t be any Disha police stations but Mahila police stations. Soon, the renaming exercise would commence, the home minister said while addressing the media after completing a review meeting with the police and district officials on Monday.

“The pro-YSRCP police are given warning. I can only tell once or twice but not thrice,” she said.

Expressing concern that there is a free flow of ganja in the city, Anitha expressed worry that even kids studying Classes V and VI are falling prey to ganja consumption. “Instructions are given to watch out for eve teasers in campuses and strict action would be taken against them. There will be more focus on isolated places to ensure safety of women,” she said.

The home minister said that the previous government had completely weakened the police department and it was running in such a pathetic state that it could not even pay the maintenance charges to the police stations.

“What is more surprising is that of the 1,700 CCTV cameras installed across Visakhapatnam, only 700 are functioning,” Anitha pointed out, adding that the YSRCP government did not even pay maintenance charges to the agencies concerned.

The review meeting focused on various issues like law and order maintenance, transportation of ganja, supply of narcotics, performance of the personnel etc., in Visakhapatnam.

District collector A Mallikarjuna, commissioner of police Aa Ravi Shankar, additional commissioner of police K Fakeerappa and other senior police officers were present at the meeting.