Gujarat Govt gears up to set up anti-radicalization cells

Gandhinagar: Within a month of coming back to power in Gujarat, the Bhartiya Janta Party government is ready to set up anti-radicalization cells in areas where radicalization is more likely.

According to the sources, the anti-radicalization cells will be set up in the police stations whose jurisdiction has had a history of communal violence. Border area police stations having a history of radicalism will also be manned by specially trained personnel of anti-radicalization cells.

In the past few days, Harsh Sanghavi, Minister of State for Home, has led meetings to work out the project’s details. “A process to map areas and police stations where anti-radicalization cells should be set up will begin shortly,” a key source informed.

While nothing has been made official so far, the sources informed the media that community policing will be a big part of this project. To ensure community participation and more effective identification of those who might be radicalized, the state police department will include members from the areas where the cells will be established, according to sources.

BJP, in its manifesto before the 2022 polls, had promised to set up an anti-radicalization cell in the state. At that time, the party’s national president J P Nadda had said that the BJP state government will create an anti-radicalization cell “to identify and eliminate potential threats, sleeper cells of terrorist organizations and anti-India forces.” DeshGujarat