New Delhi: Amid heightened security measures and surveillance in the wake of the 22 April Pahalgam attack, a Rajasthan Police official of the rank sub-inspector has landed in trouble for conducting searches in hotels and markets in and around the border district of Jaisalmer wearing riot gear and carrying his service weapon in an “unprofessional” manner.
The Jaisalmer district police chief has sought a clarification from Ramdevra Station House Officer (SHO) Shankar Lal after videos of a police team led by him went into circulation on social media. In the video, Lal can be seen wearing a bulletproof jacket and goggles, brandishing a service weapon, and conducting searches in hotels and markets around the city. Some members of the team are also seen carrying their service weapons.
“A clarification has been sought from Ram Devra Police Station SHO for violating the SOP established by the police administration on carrying out searches in the city. The use of weapons has been barred unless there is specific input about a potential threat to the search party. The use of weapons by the concerned officer has been found unprofessional,” Jaisalmer Superintendent of Police (SP) Sudheer Choudhary told ThePrint.
Sources in the Rajasthan Police said the gear used by Lal and his team is part of the anti-riot gear police use while dealing with specific law and order situations.
“There are sufficient numbers of bulletproof jackets and head protective helmets at the police station level. Jaisalmer Police also have sophisticated weapons such as AK-47 to deal with any possible emergency concerning law and order situation,” a police officer said.
The development comes in the wake of the terror attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam, where 25 tourists and a Kashmiri local were killed by a group of terrorists on 22 April.
All security agencies and police forces across the country have been on high alert since the attack to thwart any possible law and order disturbance.
Jaisalmer is a border district in the Thar Desert. Some villages of the district are just a few kilometres from the international border with Pakistan.
Jodhpur Range Inspector General of Police (IG) Vikas Kumar said coordination between the Border Security Force (BSF), intelligence agencies and Rajasthan Police has been further strengthened in the wake of the Pahalgam attack. All police stations and posts in border areas have been issued specific instructions to step up vigilance and intelligence gathering.
“Coordination meetings have been held, and the information sharing apparatus has been further strengthened. One meeting has been held in Jaisalmer. Another one is likely to take place shortly in Barmer to ensure no loose ends in communication and information-sharing among agencies,” IG Kumar told ThePrint.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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