Ranchi: Sustained police operations have considerably weakened Left-wing extremism (LWE) in Jharkhand this year, DGP Tadasha Mishra said at the Independence Day function held at the police headquarters on Saturday.Highlighting the results of anti-Maoist operations, Mishra said police arrested 103 extremists, including politburo member Misir Besra, while 46 others surrendered so far. Twenty-two extremists were killed in encounters, including central committee member Patiram Majhi.“Police also recovered 98 weapons, 7,470 cartridges, 11 kg of explosives, three improvised explosive devices and Rs 6 lakh from extremists during the operations,” she said.The DGP said police had adopted a zero-tolerance policy against organised crime. Action against criminal gangs resulted in the arrest of 193 people and seizure of 63 weapons and 274 cartridges. Proceedings under the Crime Control Act were initiated against 50 criminals.Mishra said 710 people allegedly involved in drug abuse and trafficking were arrested between Jan and June. “Police were also conducting public awareness campaigns to protect youths from substance abuse,” she added.Continuous operations against cybercrime led to the arrest of 486 people and recovery of valuables worth Rs 17 lakh during the first six months of the year.Referring to police modernisation, Mishra said chief minister Hemant Soren dedicated 636 four-wheelers and 849 two-wheelers to the force in March.The average response time under the emergency response support system improved from nine minutes and 41 seconds in Jan to nine minutes and 12 seconds in July, despite the number of complaints increasing from 16,000 to 23,000.On welfare measures, the DGP said Rs 3.69 crore was approved from the welfare fund for 1,007 police personnel. As many as 84 people were appointed on compassionate grounds, while 37 police officers and employees received out-of-turn promotions in recognition of their valour.
