The Delhi Police's patrol unit - Police Control Room (PCR) - has got 400 new patrolling vans in the fleet, thanks to the recently concluded G20 Summit held in the national capital.
These vehicles have now been distributed to various units of the force, which include PCR, security and police districts. Delhi has 15 police districts.
The Delhi Police's patrol unit - Police Control Room (PCR) - has got 400 new patrolling vans in the fleet, thanks to the recently concluded G20 Summit held in the national capital.
According to sources, the Delhi Police had bought 850 four-wheelers -- Maruti Suzuki Ertiga, Mahindra Scorpio, Toyota Innova and Mahindra Bolero Neo -- just before the G20 Summit, where dignitaries from 19 countries stayed in Delhi and held meetings over global economy.
These vehicles have now been distributed to various units of the force, which include PCR, security and police districts. Delhi has 15 police districts.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Provisioning and logistics) Vinit Kumar, when contacted, confirmed the development.
According to a police officer, during the G20 summit, the newly bought vehicles were deployed mostly in convoys of the dignitaries but soon after its conclusion, they were distributed to the units.
A total of 400 vehicles have been given to the PCR unit, 150 to the security unit and another 300 were distributed to 15 police districts and other units of the force, the officer said.
"The distribution of vehicles to units has been done based on their requirement. Almost half of our patrolling vans in the PCR unit were condemned vehicles (unfit for use), therefore it got the maximum number of new vehicles," another police officer said.
The PCR unit of the Delhi Police is the backbone of the force because these patrolling vehicles are the first responders to the spot, during emergency dialled on 100 or 112, the officer added.
There are at least 800 vehicles and 5,000 police personnel deployed in the fleet of the PCR. These vehicles are manned by at least three armed policemen including a driver of constable or head constable rank. The estimated time taken by these vehicles to reach a spot is five or six minutes, the police sources said.
The unit was merged with districts police two years ago but early this year it was separated again and runs independently in the force.
The Delhi Police, which comprises nearly 1 lakh personnel, has 9,000 vehicles which include trucks, four-wheelers and two-wheelers. An average age of retirement of these vehicle is 6.5 years or 1.5 lakhs kilometers, whichever completed early, an official said.
The official said once the police vehicles get condemned, it get auctioned via online process of application.
-With PTI Input