Lok Sabha polls: Punjab Police conducts checking of vehicles in 10 border districts

In the wake of the Lok Sabha polls, the Punjab Police on Sunday carried out a special operation aimed at checking vehicles entering or exiting the state to keep vigil at the movement of drug smugglers and bootleggers.

Special Director General of Police Arpit Shukla said that for the operation -- 'OPS Seal-VI' -- senior superintendents of police (SSPs) of 10 districts were asked to mobilise the maximum number of manpower for checkpoints under the supervision of SHOs and effectively seal all the entry and exit points in their respective districts.

The SSPs were also directed to personally visit some of the checkpoints at vulnerable spots, besides liaising with their counterparts in neighbouring states to put joint checkpoints on their side, he said.

Shukla said during the operation, a thorough search of suspected vehicles and persons was conducted while ensuring minimum inconvenience was caused to the general public.

"We had strictly instructed all the police personnel to deal with every commuter in a friendly and polite manner while checking their vehicles during this operation," he added.

The special DGP said as many as 5,137 vehicles entering and exiting the state were checked, of which 200 were fined and 22 were impounded.

Police teams have also verified the registration numbers of all the vehicles using the VAHAN mobile app.

Police also registered 42 FIRs after arresting 44 people and recovered Rs 10 lakh cash, 110 kg poppy husk, one kg opium, 24 grams heroin, 228-litre illicit liquor, and 100-litre lahan, among others, from their possession.

Police also rounded up 222 suspicious persons for questioning.