IMPHAL: Manipur inspector general of police Clay Khongsai on Thursday said 586 underground cadres were arrested and 18 others killed in counter-insurgency operations last year. Highlighting the success of such operations during this period, the senior police officer said a large number of arms were also recovered.Stating that there has been a lot of improvement in the investigation of criminal cases in the state, he said 1171 such FIRs were registered in this period, out of which 179 were chargesheeted and 783 cases were disposed off.Addressing a press conference organised by the Manipur information and public relations department at its head office here, Khongsai said 89 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) cases were registered and 72 persons were arrested from January 2017 till April 2018.The police department has initiated a special drive against narcotic drugs and illegal poppy plantations across the state, he said, adding that 1837 acres of illegal poppy plantations were destroyed and 33 kilograms and 800 gram of opium were seized in 2017-18. Various tobacco products worth Rs 1.7 crore have also been confiscated and disposed off, he said.Khongsai added that the Manipur police force has taken up various measures like community policing and community outreach programmes to encourage the citizens to assist the police in maintaining public safety and crime prevention and to build cordial relationships between the police and public in the state."To build a healthy police-public relationship in the state, 'Police Community Liaison Groups' and 'Police Friends' have been created. WhatsApp groups, Facebook pages have been created for sharing of information among the members," the IGP added.With the primary aim to bridge the people-police gap, a ' Manipur Police Citizen Portal ' was launched by chief minister N Biren Singh in February, he added.Manipur Police has also adopted proactive measures to keep law and order under control such as 'Action Plan' in greater Imphal area for enhanced and strategic deployment of forces and increased number of check posts, he said. Khongsai mentioned that the crime and criminal tracking network and systems (CCTNS) was launched as a mission mode project and a total of 101 police stations have the facility of CCTNS software and 65 police stations have VPNoBB connectivity facilities. To combat the rising cyber crime cases in the state, the 'Cyber Crime Police Station' was opened for the first time in the state at CID (crime branch) in June last year, he said.

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