An all-India conference of top police officials, to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will begin on Firday in Kutch, Gujarat, where -- among other issues -- ways to thwart attempts by Islamic State to spread its base in the country are likely to be discussed.
The 50th edition of the All-India Directors General/Inspectors General of Police Conference is being hosted at Dhordo village, organised near the India-Pakistan border from December 18-20, where other issues related to internal security would also come up for discussion.
The conference will also be attended by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary.
Gujarat Director General of Police P C Thakur had earlier said that one of the issues for discussion would be about IS plans on India and what kind of steps could be taken to 'de-radicalise Indian Muslims' and to stop them from falling prey to the 'malicious' propaganda of the global terror outfit.
The conference is organised by the Intelligence Bureau and all heads of various police and other security agencies will attend it.
Apart from all the DGPs and IGs of all the states and Union territories, heads of National Investigation Agency, Central Bureau of Investigation, IB, narcotics department and various police training academies will also take part in the conference.
DGs and IGs of paramilitary forces like Border Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force and Central Industrial Security Force will also be present.
With the prime minister and the home minister scheduled to take part in the conference, the Gujarat police and the state government has left no stone unturned to secure the venue and surrounding areas.
Thakur, along with Gujarat Chief Secretary G R Aloria, visited the venue recently and took stock of the overall preparations and reviewed security arrangements.
Both of them held meetings with local police officials as well as top officials of the BSF to ensure foolproof security cover.
Gujarat Crime Investigation Department DGP Pramod Kumar said the police as well as other security agencies have been put on alert ahead of the meeting.
"We have already alerted the state police, the Indian Navy, the Coast Guard, the BSF and other security agencies, so that no one can infiltrate from the border on land or through coastal areas of the state. We have also alerted neighbouring states to remain on vigil and beef up security," Kumar said.
As per the schedule, Rajnath Singh will deliver the inaugural speech in the presence of the prime minister.
Modi, who will arrive at Bhuj on Friday, is scheduled to stay there throughout the conference and deliver his address on the concluding day of the event, officials said.
According to Kumar, around 250 top officials from across the country would converge in Kutch for the conference.
For the first time, all these top-ranking police officers are invited with their families.
The venue of the conference, Dhordo is around 80 km from Kutch's district headquarters Bhuj. Incidentally, the same venue also hosts the Gujarat government’s famous 'Rann Utsav' every year, where a large tent-city comes up for the festival to accommodate tourists.
The 'Rann Utsav', famed for its pristine white desert also kicks off on Friday and will last till February 29 next year.
The participants of the conference would be accommodated at the same tent city.
Before Modi took over as the prime minister in 2014, this conference was held only in Delhi. For the first time, the prime minister had taken this conference out of Delhi and organised it in Guwahati last year. This year, Kutch was selected.
