Kathmandu, October 3:

Taking into consideration the previous record of more crimes taking place during the Dashain festival, the Metropolitan Police Crime Division (MPCD) has heightened security in the Valley.

“We have increased the security arrangement for Dashain,” said Joint-commissioner SSP Upendra Kanta Aryal at the MPCD. According to him, incidents of thefts, looting and snatching are usually reported high during Dashain if the previous records is followed.

He said that the deployment and patrolling of police personnel has been heavily increased. “We didn’t ask more personnel from headquarters. But, we called a number of personnel designated in other assignments and deployed them to control crimes during Dashain as security during the festival is on high priority for now,” he told this daily.

The police official said that vigilance on professional criminals has also been increased to keep crimes at bay. “Besides regular patrolling of Control Room Vehicles (CRVs) and deployment of police in uniform, police personnel have also been deployed in plain-clothes

in crime-prone places,”

he added.

Ramesh Thapa, inspector at the Metropolitan Police Sector, Durbarmarg, said that they have been asked to intensify “surprise checking” and patrolling in the Kathmandu Valley.

“Five thefts and three incidents of looting are taking place in every two days in Valley,” a police official at the MPCD said.

The Metropolitan Police has around 10,000 human resources.