Lakhimpur Kheri investigation is on right track: ADG

Lucknow, Nov 10 (IANS) Lucknow zone ADG S.N. Sabat, a Director-General level officer, says that the investigation by the SIT into the Kheri incident where 8 people lost their lives is on the right track.

Sabat has completed two years at his present posting, has served in the CRPF and was involved in anti-naxal operations in Odisha. He also worked with the UN peacekeeping force in Kosovo.

Speaking to IANS, Sabat said the police controlled the situation at the right time which had been escalating after 4 farmers were mowed down allegedly by the son of a Union Minister.

Sabat said the SIT headed by a DIG level officer is on the right track. He said the police took timely action in the Kheri incident where 8 people died and due to the timely action the situation de-escalated.

Sabat, who heads the zone which comprises of Ayodhya district and 10 other districts faces crucial law and order challenges which have been dealt with attention. He said women's safety is also the prime focus of the police department under "Mission Shakti".

He said the police have been asked to take timely action and behave properly with the victims; they should register any complaint by anybody who approaches the police station

"We have started Mission Shakti which is aimed at women security, and Uttar Pradesh has women's help desk in all the police stations. About 1,565 police stations are there in Uttar Pradesh and more than 200 are there in our zone in Lucknow. We are doing a lot of things for the awareness campaign about women's safety and security as well, we took enforcement very seriously under the Pocso Act and women related crimes were addressed by us promptly."

He said women constables are assigned beats for better policing and they are not confined only to police stations.

He said policing is a challenging job in UP. Lucknow being the capital city and which falls in this zone, many issues come the fore which we try to resolve amicably because it's a huge populated area and it's part of Central UP.

He said the police is also gearing up for the upcoming elections and to provide security at sensitive places like Ayodhya. Despite Supreme Court order in the last two years the zone did not have any major law and order problem although we have many challenges. "We take a lot of precautions to maintain communal harmony."