New Delhi: The political turmoil and change of government in Bangladesh and its impact on India is one of the major components, the ongoing 59th DGPs, IGPs conference in Odisha has been discussing.
The conference, being attended by top police officials from States, central security agencies have further categorised five critical components of national security including LWE, coastal security, narcotics, cyber-crime and economic security.
According to a senior government official, the meeting is also having a thorough discussion on emerging security challenges along India’s eastern border, immigration and trends in urban policing as well.
Significantly, the 59th DGPs, IGPs conference strategically shifted its importance from India’s western border to the country's eastern frontier.
“The west frontier with Pakistan has always been a top priority for us. However, the present turmoil in our neighbourhood in the east including Bangladesh and Myanmar have compelled the security agencies to make a strategic shift from west to east,” the official stated.
India’s eastern border
India shares its land border with Bangladesh and Myanmar in the east. The uprising of fundamentalist activities in Bangladesh following a change of government has compelled New Delhi to relook into its security strategies as far as dealing with the development in the neighbouring country is concerned. Multi agency reports have already indicated that the forces inimical to India’s security might try to create disturbance in India’s northeast from Bangladesh.
In the Myanmar front too, India faces security challenges following the current disturbance in Manipur. What has further worsened the situation is the fact that the hands of insurgent outfits operating from Myanmar have been found in the present turmoil in Manipur.
LWE
As the government has set a March 2026 deadline to eliminate Naxalism from the country, the meeting is likely to adopt fresh strategies to handle the menace more effectively. As per government data, due to Naxalism, more than 8 crore people have been deprived of basic amenities. Significantly, due to the proactive approach against Naxalism, violent incidents in LWE-affected areas dropped by 53%, from 16,463 cases between 2004 and 2014 to 7,700 in the last 10 years. Since January this year, a total of 237 Naxalites have been neutralized, 812 arrested, and 723 have surrendered in Chhattisgarh- a hotbed of naxal violence.
Coastal Security
India has a coastline of 7,516.6 km bordering the mainland and the islands with Bay of Bengal in the East, the Indian Ocean on the South and the Arabian Sea on the West. With nine States including Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal and four Union Territories viz. Daman & Diu, Lakshadweep, Puducherry and Andaman & Nicobar Islands situated on the coast, the physical proximity of such costs to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Gulf countries adds to its vulnerability. Smuggling of drugs as well as arms and ammunition through sea routes from Pakistan, Afghanistan and other countries have increased the vulnerability of India’s coastal security.
Narcotics
Pumping of narcotics from the foreign soil has also raised serious concern among the law enforcing agencies. Involvement of criminals and gangsters in the narcotics business have further worsened the situation.
Cyber-crime
According to the government data, more than 14,41,717 cybercrime cases have been registered across India from January 1 till November 11 this year. Although the central government has adopted zero tolerance against cybercrime, different trending cybercrime including investment scam, part time job scam, instant loan, digital arrest, dating scam, refund scam, fake gaming apps, cyber slavery, sextortion have deteriorated the situation.
Economic Security
The proliferation of counterfeit currency poses a threat to national security, as it can be used to fund anti-India activities and destabilize the country's economy. Although, the total number of counterfeit currency notes of all denominations detected and reported in the banking system has seen a decline, from 3,17,384 million pieces (mpcs) in the year 2018-19 to 2,22,639 mpcs in the year 2023-24, unabated circulation is still a major concern.
Meanwhile, Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on Saturday issued another threat targeting Biju Patnaik International Airport, as the 59th DG-IG conference is currently underway in Bhubaneswar. Pannun in a 59 second video message asked the people to and from Biju Patnaik Airport on December 1. Pannun also announced a reward of Rs 25 lakh to raise the Khalistani flag.
