BHUBANESWAR: The Bangladesh turmoil and its ramifications on India’s internal and coastal security are likely to be top of the agenda during the 59th All India DGP and IGP conference which kicked off here on Friday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair the brain-storming sessions from 8.30 am on Saturday and Sunday. Held for the first time in Odisha, the meet was inaugurated by Shah on Friday.
“PM Modi and Home ninister Shah closely follow all the sessions. At the end of every presentation, they either put forth a query or make suggestions. The conference is expected to provide various valuable insights on how to enhance our internal and external security measures,” said a senior police officer.
Sources said the change of guard in the neighbouring country may have far-reaching implications and discussions will be held on strategies to secure land borders and maritime boundaries along Bangladesh.
“The changing geopolitics poses another major challenge of possible revival of the fake Indian currency notes (FICN) rackets as some cities in Bangladesh were long known to be hubs of the counterfeit currency which were pushed into India through the bordering areas,” said sources familiar with the subject.
The smuggling of counterfeit currency commenced decades ago with FICN printed in Pakistan and then illicitly imported into India either through Nepal and Bangladesh border or through other places like Dubai and Bangkok.
“The focus on coastal security was earlier mostly over the Arabian Sea as it is bounded on the north by Pakistan. The attention has now shifted to the Bay of Bengal too. With the ongoing tumult, there are apprehensions of radicalisation in Bangladesh leading to smuggling of arms, FICNs, contraband items like heroin and influx of refugees/human trafficking into the country. To curb such illegal activities, tightening of coastal security in eastern states of West Bengal and Odisha has become paramount,” said the sources.
Another subject will be checking radical elements in Bangladesh from joining hands with insurgent groups in the North East region.
Apart from the anticipated challenges along the border with Bangladesh, discussions will also be held on international boundaries with Myanmar, Pakistan and China. An unsettled Myanmar is a cause of concern and India not only faces the challenge of refugee inflow but also drug trafficking into states of Mizoram and Manipur.
Senior officials of various states and Intelligence Bureau (IB) are likely to discuss these international border concerns during the conference in the presence of Modi and Shah.
Cyber crimes including misuse of artificial intelligence for illegal activities like generating deepfakes will also be another major subject of discussion. A detailed session on the current scenario related to the left wing extremism (LWE) will also take place during the event.