As schools reopen, Ludhiana police commissioner orders verification of staff

Rakesh Agrawal said for the safety of students, verification of school staff, including drivers and conductors of school buses, was important.

With educational institutes reopening for students after the drop in Covid-19 cases, commissioner of police Rakesh Agrawal has ordered schools and colleges to deposit a list of their staff to the police station concerned.

Commissioner of police Rakesh Agrawal has ordered schools and colleges to deposit a list of their staff to the police station concerned. (PTI)

Agrawal said for the safety of students, verification of school staff, including drivers and conductors of school buses, was important. Besides schools and colleges, factories and other establishments also need to deposit the record of gardeners, drivers, watchmen and other employees who live on the premises to the police station concerned.

Ban on assembly of five or more people

The police commissioner on Tuesday extended the ban on assembly of five or more people under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) for two months. As part of the order, all protests, rallies and marches have been banned anywhere in the city except at the PUDA ground in Sector 39-A on Chandigarh Road. Even for this venue, a prior permission from police is mandatory.

Security instructions for gold loan companies, banks

The commissioner has also ordered all gold loan companies, banks and other financial institutions to install night-vision CCTV cameras to cover the access road, all entry and exit points, reception desk and other vital points inside the branch with storage of up to 30 days and power backup.

The DVR/NVR and UPS of these devices should be at inconspicuous locations to prevent damage by miscreants. The devices must be equipped with remote recording and storage of footage for any eventuality.

Managements of such facilities also need to ensure functional burglar alarms, with access points near the seats of the branch manager, cashier and other officials of the branch. These alarms should be linked to the head offices, where an effective communication system should be in place to immediately alert the police control room (PCR).

All branches should have a BSNL landline phone with an auto dialer. As soon as the alarm goes off, a teleprompter should automatically inform the PCR regarding the suspicious activity in the branch in a pre-recorded message. The alarm should be audible to neighbouring areas up to 100 metres to alert any police team and civilians in the vicinity.

The security staff at such establishments must be hired only after police verification, and the name and phone numbers of all visitors must be recorded in a register.

Proper records at spa, massage centres

To deter illegal activities at spa and massage centres in the city, the police commissioner has asked their owners to maintain proper records, including a copy of photo identity cards of all customers.

In the orders issued under Section 144 of the CrPC, Agrawal directed that all foreign staff at such centres must have a work visa.

Besides CCTV cameras are mandatory at entry, exit and reception points, and the recordings must be stored for 30 days. Owners must ensure there is no secret entry or exit passage.

Employees here also need to undergo police verification through the closest station.

Centres storing liquor, drugs, hookah and other intoxicants for customers will be penalised.