New Delhi: In view of the G20 meet at Amritsar on Wednesday, Punjab Police conducted a special cordon and search operation under which, raids were conducted at locations and hideouts related to foreign-based gangsters as well as their associates, a senior official said.
The operation was conducted on the directions of Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav in all 28 police districts of the state.
Several G20 events are scheduled to be held in Amritsar. The main event on education will take place from March 15-17. Besides, the L20 meeting on Labour is scheduled for March 19-20.
Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Arpit Shukla said Commissioners of Police, and SSPs were directed to personally monitor these raids and form a sufficient number of police teams so that these checks could be carried out simultaneously.
The raids were planned after the questioning of recently arrested gangsters and criminals, according to an official statement.
Around 100 parties of Punjab Police, involving over 1,000 personnel, were deployed to conduct the raids at suspected places and hideouts of foreign-based gangsters, he said.
More than 300 houses and other shelters were thoroughly checked by police teams, he added.
Shukla said police conducted thorough searches at the houses and other premises, and also collected data from mobile phones and other electronic devices, which will be sent for forensic examination.
He said several people were detained for further verification and incriminating material seized from them is being examined.
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He said police teams also checked arms licences and questioned people about the sourcing of ammunition, besides, gathering travel details of foreign-based family members, bank transactions from abroad, and property details for further examination.
The ADGP said this operation was aimed to keep a constant tab and close surveillance on the anti-social elements.
He said Punjab Police will not let anyone disturb the hard-earned peace of the state and anyone found indulging in unlawful activities will be dealt with firmly and criminal cases will be registered immediately.
Inspector General of Police, Sukhchain Singh Gill said foolproof security arrangements have been made for the G20 meeting in Amritsar.
He said an ADGP rank officer has been deputed as nodal officer to oversee and coordinate security-related arrangements.
Yadav, who was in Amritsar on Tuesday to review security arrangements, held meetings with senior officials, Gill said.
Punjab Police had on Monday said it conducted a special operation wherein all the vehicles entering the border state were thoroughly checked.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)