Police to check vehicles to catch criminals on wheels

HYDERABAD: Alarmed at the audacity of three men who shot dead a businessman in a busy Narayanaguda street earlier last week, the city police have started checking vehicles at various points to catch criminals on the move.
That Vinayaka Chaturthi is just a few weeks away is another factor which has led to the drive.
According to additional commissioner of police A K Khan, the drive started about a week back.“We have identified about 40 points in the city and have posted our men at these places to check vehicles.�
Senior officers have been even sending decoys to check the alertness of personnel at these checking points. At times information is passed through the control room to the interception teams that a certain vehicle — with the decoys aboard — needs to be stopped.
“Every evening these teams report to senior officials about the various points where they were intercepted and the ones they were able to cross undetected.�
Police commissioner M V Krishna Rao has announced awards for policemen who display efficiency in intercepting the decoys.
However, some officers pointed out that such exercises would at best produce a few results. Unless specialist units committed to gathering intelligence or keeping an eye on habitual offenders are strengthened, it would be difficult to control crime in the long run, an officer said.
“Look at the performance of the Central Crime Station. It has had dismal record in crime solving in recent years. How can the law and order police keep track of habitual offenders and maintain peace at the same time? It’s high time these specialised units started doing their job,� the officer said.