Sampark Abhiyan educates youth against ‘dark world’ of gangs: DGP

Chandigarh: The ‘Sampark Abhiyan' of Punjab Police, where police personnel interact with state residents to solve their grievances, promote community policing and tackle the drug menace, has turned out to be an open dialogue platform for educating the state's youth about the ‘dark world' of gangs and gangsters, Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav said here on Friday."Since January, more than 2,800 sessions of the outreach initiative have been conducted across 28 districts, drawing participation from people across age groups. The response has encouraged the police to further expand these efforts," he said."With the inputs gathered during the state govt-backed ‘Gangstran Te Vaar' operation, the police have found that gangsters lure youngsters with false hopes of earning quick money, material comforts or promises of settling abroad for committing crimes — a crystal lie which many do not see at first," the DGP said, adding that the ‘Sampark Abhiyan' sessions were giving youngsters "a clearer picture of those risks."He said, "Young minds have the potential to build their future and contribute to the state. But we saw how easily they can be misled. It's important that youngsters recognise these traps early."