Zero tolerance for political crimes, CM Naidu tells Andhra police

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Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday told police officers to show zero tolerance towards political crimes, digital offences, obscene social media posts, and crimes against women. Addressing a video conference of 1,650 officers from nearly 1,200 police stations, he said no political party should be allowed to shield criminals or cause public inconvenience. He cited motorcycle stunts during a political rally at Ibrahimpatnam and roadblocks in Visakhapatnam that lasted three hours. The Hindu reports Naidu claimed 94% of those creating disturbances on roads belonged to one particular party.

Naidu said the state had integrated 14,770 government CCTV cameras with private ones, creating a network of about one lakh cameras. Facial recognition and DNA-based detection are now used in investigations. He noted that cognizable crimes had fallen 14% over two years, but cautioned against complacency. The police must adopt an “invisible police, visible policing” approach, he said, and should release a monthly performance report. Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha and DGP Harish Kumar Gupta attended the meeting.