11 new police stations, including seven in Pune city and four in Pimpri-Chinchwad, were inaugurated on Friday at an event attended by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Cooperative Murlidhar Mohol, among others.
In Pune, the new police stations are at Nanded City, Baner, Kalepadal, Phursungi, Kharadi, Ambegaon, and Wagholi while in Pimpri-Chinchwad, the new police stations are at Sant Tukaram Nagar, Dapodi, Kalewadi, and Bavdhan.
Earlier, Pune city had 32 police stations, including a dedicated police station for cybercrimes and Pimpri-Chinchwad had 18 police stations, including a cybercrime police station.
Apart from the inauguration of the police stations, a fund of ₹433.44 crore was sanctioned for the installation of 2,886 CCTV cameras in Pune city. Besides, ₹193 crore was sanctioned for the construction of the new Pune Police Commissionerate and ₹29 crore for the new Bund Garden Police Station building.
Moreover, the long wait for a dedicated and state-of-the-art Pimpri Chinchwad Police Commissionerate building was over as the approved design was revealed during the event. A new "PC CITY SHIELD" mobile application, which is an AI-backed patrolling and criminal monitoring system, was also launched, along with the industrial city's cyber awareness programme called 'Savdhan Campaign'.
Speaking to the media after the event, Fadnavis, who is also the state's Home Minister, said projects worth ₹720 crore were launched. "We are improving policing by using advanced technology. Based on the population, police officers are being appointed and police stations are being set. Rules and regulations for this has been changed."
When asked about the Bopdev Ghat gang rape case, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said, "An incident shaming humanity had taken place, but police have now arrested one accused and the remaining two accused will also be nabbed as their whereabouts have been traced."