Chandigarh, Sep 17 (PTI) The Punjab Police on Saturday conducted cordon and search operations across the state to effect the seizure of drugs and instill a sense of security among the people, a senior official said.

He said police commissioners and SSPs had identified hotspots where drugs are prevalent or certain areas which have become safe haven for criminals and anti-social elements, to carry out this operation.

Also Read | Rajasthan: Man Gets Life Term for Unnatural Sex With Minor Boy in Kota.

"The idea behind conducting these operations is to instill a sense of safety and security among the common people and to effect the seizure of drugs," Director General of Police (DGP), Punjab, Gaurav Yadav said.

Also Read | Narendra Modi Birthday 2022: Congress Celebrates Prime Minister's Birthday As 'National Unemployment Day', Fry 'Pakoras' in Gurugram.

The operation was conducted from 11am to 3 pm simultaneously across the state and additional director general and inspector general ranks of police deputed to personally supervise the operation.

The commissioners of police (CP) and senior superintendents of police (SSP) of all the concerned districts mobilised maximum manpower for this operation, the DGP said, adding that as many as 200 gazetted officers were deputed to conduct this operation.

The operation was conducted at 227 identified hotspots.

DGP Yadav said during these operations, a thorough search of suspected houses was conducted under the supervision of senior police officers, while ensuring minimum inconvenience to the public.

"All the police personnel were strictly instructed to deal with every resident in a friendly and polite manner during the course of this operation," he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)