Venkaiah asks police to be vigilant against security threats

Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu called upon the police force in the country to be more vigilant against elements creating disturbances in the country. Speaking at the closing ceremony of All India Police Band Competition-2019 held by Railway Protection Force (RPF) in Secunderabad on Sunday, he said one of India’s neighbours is “funding, aiding and abetting terrorism”.

“We are seeing what is happening in different parts of the country. Some people are encouraging violence. So, society has to be alert to understand the evil designs of such elements. We have to see to it that such efforts are foiled and the country’s unity and integrity are maintained,” Mr Naidu said.

Stressing that police forces must live up to the expectations of people, he said there is a need to initiate further reforms to improve ambience of police stations and make them citizen-friendly.

He presented awards to winners of the police band competition. Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) bagged four awards in the five-day competition which concluded on Sunday. A total of 23 bands representing various paramilitary forces of India and State police departments participated in three categories — brass band, pipe band and buglers.

Over 1,400 players from the 23 teams, including Border Security Force and Indo-Tibetan Border Police, displayed their skills on the occasion.

In the past few days, the police bands has even performed at prominent localities such as Charminar and Secunderabad Railway Station.

Of its four awards, CRPF team bagged gold in brass band and bugler categories while Maharashtra police band won top honours in pipe band category. Overall champion award was presented to CRPF team. Best conductor awards were presented to RPF band master Ravi Y. (brass band) and Maharashtra band master Gajanan Andhare (pipe band).

Mr Naidu said the bands are an integral part of armed forces and play a significant role in boosting the morale of forces.