Cracking down on crime: How special operations by police helps curb crimes in Mumbai

High-ranking Mumbai Police officers on the ground, overnight citywide operations, and stellar investigators collaborating with officials to apprehend suspects at regular intervals are a few of the vigilant measures taken by the Mumbai Police in their ongoing battle against crime in the city.

In mid-August, Mumbai Police conducted their special operation called the 'All Out Operation' and in a sweeping crackdown on criminal activities on the night of August 12 which continued until the early hours of August 13, involved a coordinated effort by law enforcement agencies across the city. Key police officials, including Additional Commissioners of Police, Deputy Police Commissioners, Divisional Assistant Commissioners, and Senior Police Inspectors, were involved in this massive endeavour to maintain law and order.

The special 'All Out Operation' was undertaken in the city under the guidance of top Mumbai Police officials, an official said.

Crackdown on criminal activities

During the operation, examination of 1,640 individuals with prior criminal records was done. Of these, 355 individuals were allegedly found to be involved in various crimes, leading to preventive actions being taken against them.

This helps in preventing those with criminal intentions from committing crimes in the city, the official added.

He said that a dedicated focus on addressing theft-related crimes led to the investigation of 350 accused individuals, with preventive actions taken against 62 of them based on the merit of the cases. Prohibited activities were also targeted, resulting in the investigation of 46 accused individuals and their subsequent arrests. Furthermore, the operation targeted individuals who had been released from prison, leading to the preventive action being taken against 109 such individuals. A total of four individuals were searched and arrested during this process.

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Why special operations are important

Retired IPS officer, PK Jain, while speaking to mid-day.com said, when such campaigns are conducted over smaller areas like one or two police station or one division or zone, criminals generally take the benefit of nakabandi being conducted in one area and escape to another area, but when the concerted action is taken by all police stations in a city or district, the criminals find it difficult to slip from one area to another area.

He said, another advantage is that all the policemen and officers in a particular police station are briefed about the known criminals, bad elements, trouble mongers etc. in the area, so that whenever they are on general and routine duty and night rounds, they can keep looking for such elements and keep a watch on their activities.

Jain further said, "Such special campaigns are launched to produce meaningful results, in terms of apprehending the known trouble mongers, known criminals and history-sheeters. The special drives are started from different perspectives, one is criminal-centric, second is law and order centric before any special festival/ occasion, and thirdly it is traffic centric etc."

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A police official, not wishing to be named, said that the special operation also focuses on maintaining public safety. He said, for instance, in the last all out operation, the Mumbai Police officials also inspected 933 establishments, including hotels, lodges, and musafirkhanas, in order to prevent illegal residents. Additionally, 605 sensitive locations were searched across Mumbai. The operation resulted in the issuance of 79 non-bailable warrants.

He said the crackdown on illegal weapons yielded significant results, with 30 cases registered and 30 individuals arrested, while a total of 30 illegal weapons were seized.

The operation also extended to addressing public disturbances, as 73 individuals suspected of violating Sections 120 and 122 of the Maharashtra Police Act were identified and dealt with accordingly. In addition, 20 illegal businesses were raided and shut down, contributing to the overall public safety efforts. Additionally, a thorough investigation led to the registration of 101 cases under the Anti-Narcotics Act (NDPS ACT), resulting in the arrest of 101 suspects.

Jain explained that the idea is to galvanise the police force and make them work towards a common objective at one point of time, so that the energy and the synergy of the entire police force is directed towards achieving a given objective. This also causes healthy competition among different sub-units. Apprehending criminals of a particular class and category in quick short campaigns.

Jain further told mid-day, "The daily pressures on the police station staff is so heavy that the general routine police functions are somewhere lost sight of. Therefore, because of such campaigns, the police are given a very limited specific objective and are galvanised into action for short stints."

Crackdown on traffic violators

As per the records, during last month's all out operation, a staggering 7,768 two-wheeler and four-wheeler vehicles were inspected during organised nakabandis in parts of the city. Moreover, 2,515 motorists were penalised under the Motor Vehicle Act.

Anti drugs drive

In a major operation to eradicate the drug menace in the city, the Mumbai Police had on September 12 initiated a targeted operation against drug peddling and abuse on Tuesday, on the similar lines of the all out operation, sources said.

The comprehensive effort involved the Regional Additional Commissioners of Police in the city, 13 Zonal Deputy Commissioners of Police, along with all Divisional Assistant Police Commissioners and various police officials from across the city, uniting their forces against this pressing issue, as per a police official.

During the extensive 24-hour special drive, carried out, a total of 328 individuals were screened, resulting in the apprehension of seven suspects, the police confirmed.

Throughout the operation, the police recorded four cases, detailing the confiscation of mephedrone in two instances, a combination of cocaine and mephedrone in another case, and ganja in a separate case, as reported on Wednesday.

"On September 12, the police registered four cases. In one of these cases, a foreign national was arrested with cocaine and mephedrone, also known as MD, in the Malwani area of Mumbai. In other cases in Deonar and Dharavi, MD was seized by the police," said an official.