BHUBANESWAR: The commissionerate police on Monday attributed smooth conduct of the Men’s Hockey World Cup to a series of special drives against habitual offenders in the run-up to the mega sporting event that concluded at Kalinga Stadium here on Sunday.In a thanksgiving ceremony, commissioner of police Satyajit Mohanty and his deputy Anup Kumar Sahoo gave credit to around 3,000 police personnel for ensuring an incident-free World Cup. “Our strategy was to ensure that no major crimes occur during the World Cup. Had any major organized crime occurred, that would have diverted our attention from the World Cup arrangements. To prevent crimes, we launched special drives against known anti-socials from October,” Mohanty said. The special drives included execution of non-bailable warrants, arrest of habitual criminals, crackdown on arms dealers and bootleggers. Deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Anup Sahoo said cops were asked to remain extra vigilant in view of congregation of foreign visitors during the World Cup Hockey. According to the foreign registration office (FRO) at DCP office, at least 1577 overseas tourists visited Bhubaneswar from November 20 till December 16. The Hockey World Cup started on November 28. “We often found foreign players, their families and supporters safely moving around their hotels in night. We received positive feedback from foreigners, mostly managers of several teams, about the security arrangements. Our personnel received accolades for their polite conduct and smiling attitude while attending the hockey players and their officials,” Sahoo said.British women's hockey team’s star defender Samantha Quek, who was here during the Men’s Hockey World Cup, tweeted about the safe atmosphere and said that her fear of being alone in India was instantly subsided after she travelled around Bhubaneswar.At least 75 platoons of police force, consisting of nearly 2500 constables, and over 350 police officers were assigned to maintain law and order and regulate traffic during the mega sporting event. The force included around 300 newly recruited sub-inspectors, who made the debut of their duty in the World Cup. “I was initially apprehensive of my performance. I was attached as a personal security officer in France team. I tried my best to ensure zero inconvenience to the players. I was relieved and excited when they appreciated our work,” said Abhinash Mishra, a fresh sub-inspector. The commissionerate police had conducted a soft-skill training for the police personnel where they were trained to be hospitable and courteous to the players.

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