Delhi Police doubles 'PRAKHAR' anti-street crime vans

Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik on Tuesday flagged off 15 'PRAKHAR' vans, with the latest addition taking the number of such special vehicles to curb street crimes in the national capital to 30, officials said.

The vans were flagged off from the police headquarters at ITO, they said.

These patrol vans tasked especially to curb street crimes as well as crimes against women in the vulnerable areas are specially designed and equipped with latest gadgets for quick transmission of information about any crime, the officials said.

The new vans are in addition to the already operational 15 'PRAKHAR' vans launched last month, police said.

"Each 'PRAKHAR' van is also equipped with Mobile Data Terminal (MDT) with inbuilt GPS besides the wireless set. The MDT immediately transmits the calls related to street crimes as soon as it is received in Command Room to the concerned nearest PRAKHAR' van for immediate action," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Police Control Room) Sharat Kumar Sinha.

These vans conduct intensive patrolling and dedicated checking at the vulnerable points in the crime-prone areas of the districts, he said.

With the latest induction, each district will now have two such vans to cover the vulnerable stretches, he added.

The deterrent presence of these patrol vans has substantially helped in curbing crime, as the number of calls related to incidents of snatching and robbery have decreased in the localities covered by 'PRAKHAR' MPVs during the one month, police claimed.