Annual conference of country's top cops to be held virtually next month

NEW DELHI: The annual conference of directors general and inspectors general of police will be held virtually for four days next month with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah in attendance, officials said on Thursday. The conference of senior-most police officials of the country, from central investigative and intelligence agencies, Central Armed Police Forces and states, will be held from December 2-5.

In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual conference will be held this time in a virtual environment over an internet-based platform, officials said.

Home minister Amit Shah is expected to address the inaugural session while the prime minister will talk to the police personnel during the valedictory session of the conference that is organised annually by the Intelligence Bureau, they said.


National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and senior officials of the home ministry are also expected to attend the opening and closing events, officials said.

The participating police officers will be e-linked on a webinar platform from their office headquarters.

Various issues related to policing, law and order, technology-enabled security tools, border security, social media policy, cyber crime, counter-terrorism, radicalisation and challenges faced by the personnel in uniform during the COVID-19 pandemic will be discussed during the conference and addressed by various experts and senior police officers, they said.

About 250 officers in the rank of DGP and IGP from all states, Union Territories and central government will take part in the conference for which the online platform will be supported by the national informatics centre (NIC).

The directors general and inspectors general of police conference is an annual affair where senior police officials of the states and the Centre meet and discuss issues related to internal security, various crimes and emerging challenges.

The Modi government has been organising this meeting outside the national capital since it came to power in 2014.

The last six such conferences were held in Guwahati, Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, the National Police Academy in Hyderabad, BSF officers' training academy in Tekanpur in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior district, the Statue of Unity in Gujarat's Kevadia and the last being in Maharashtra's second largest city Pune.