Goa Police should become No. 1 in tackling narcotics: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah urged Goa Police to lead the country's fight against narcotics and become the top force in tackling drug abuse. He highlighted Goa's AI-powered cyber fraud helpline, faster emergency response, and strong implementation of new criminal justice codes

Panaji: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday asked Goa police to take the lead in the fight against narcotics and become the country’s number one force in combating the menace. He said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided to wage a strong battle against narcotics and drug abuse by preparing a roadmap from 2026 to 2029 that will bring together all state governments and departments to ensure every village and city is drug-free.

“Today, considering the kind of performance the Goa police has delivered in several areas, I expect Goa police to also become number one in the country in tackling narcotics and remain at the forefront. This is both my expectation and my request to you,” Shah said.

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He was addressing a function organised here to confer the President’s Colour on Goa Police. Shah praised Goa for launching an AI-based call agent for the 1930 cyber fraud helpline, adding that it had made the state’s police one step ahead of the forces in other states of the country.

Congratulating Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and the state DGP, Shah said, “We have just seen that the helpline can register complaints in Konkani, Marathi, Hindi and, as I come from Gujarat, I would also like to mention Gujarati. It will register complaints in all languages of the country and ensure the complaints are forwarded to the appropriate authorities,” he said.

Shah said the AI-based call agent would also benefit tourists who visit Goa from across the country and the world. He said CM Sawant, demonstrating his vision, has taken a major step for tourists by ensuring that the AI agent is not restricted to Konkani and Marathi, but includes all the languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

Shah said Goa police had reduced its response time under the 112 emergency service from 18 minutes to eight minutes and congratulated the force for making a major jump in the area of service delivery.

Pointing out that prompt assistance had been provided in nearly 20,000 calls, the Union Home Minister said the response time would come down further to less than six minutes with the addition of more vehicles, including two wheelers. Speaking about the three new criminal justice codes passed by the Parliament, Shah said, “They incorporate technology, sensitivity, priorities and the ability to deliver speedy justice. In a way, this is a major upgrade of policing.”

“The entire system should function on the basis of technology, whether it is the jail, FSL, court, lawyers or police station. Hospitals have also been linked to this system. Running the entire system on the basis of technology and ensuring the delivery of justice is a very significant step,” Shah said.

Shah said Goa police had remained at the top nationally in implementing the new justice codes for several months and currently ranked second in the country, with a performance rate of 93.38 per cent.

Goa police has performed very well on all nine parameters, he said, adding that its conviction rate had increased by 30 per cent. “This is a very significant achievement. Earlier, it was 23 per cent,” he pointed out.

Goa police has also secured the second position in dealing with crimes against girls and women, he said. “Your resolve towards peace, service and justice over eight decades is commendable. It has helped keep this land of Parshuram safe. It should always receive appreciation from the people of Goa as well as across the country,” he said praising the state’s police.