57-year old Damodar Gautam Sawang from Arunachal Pradesh – currently posted as Director General of Police (DGP), Andhra Pradesh has been adjudged the best DGP in the country.
Sawang a 1986 batch Andhra Pradesh cadre IPS officer has been awarded for initiating several measures for smart Innovative and community-oriented policing in the state. Even prior to this Sawang has received the Police Medal for Meritorious Service(2002), Police Medal for Gallantry (2003), CRPF Director General’s Commendation Disc (2005) and President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service (2015).
Sawang who was appointed as DGP Andhra Pradesh police on 31 May 2019 had to face a tough challenge right from the word go. The Andhra Pradesh Police Department’s jurisdiction spread over an area of 162,970 Sq.km. But the state was woefully short of SPs, DIGs and ADG level officers due to the bifurcation of Telangana.
As a result of the bifurcation of Andhra in 2014, the state was left with just 73,366 police personnel and 12,368 home guards—which were grossly insufficient to maintain law and order, control crime, traffic and other aspects.
To overcome the situation Director General of Police (DGP) D. Gautam Sawang introduced a number of innovative solutions using technology and integration of core departments which helped Andhra Pradesh Police secure the top position in the country.
Using technology, AP Police traced 11,440 missing persons, 980 wanted criminals and 8.3 lakh criminals besides identifying the bodies of 38 persons. AP police managed to complete investigation in 85% of cases and the conviction rate too increased.
The AP Police Seva App, Disha Mobile App, and Cyber Mitra App among others helped in the registration of cases and their investigation.
As a result, Andhra Pradesh Police bagged 125 awards in about 14 months – becoming a role model for the other States.
