Terror ‘almost eliminated’ but new tech a challenge, says Home Minister Amit Shah

Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said even as extremism and Naxalism had “almost been eliminated”, challenges still remained as terrorists were resorting to using new technologies like drones and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

In his address during Police Commemoration Day at the National Police Memorial, Shah: “Though the Centre has managed to almost eliminate the menace of terrorism from Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast as well as the threat of Left-Wing Extremism (LWE), the usage of new technologies like drones and AI are posing challenges before us. We assure the nation that every personnel of the police forces will stand up to this challenge as well.”

Shah’s assurance came a day after a suspected crude bomb blast near a CRPF school compound in Delhi on October 20. Later on the same evening, terrorists opened fire and killed seven civilians, including a doctor, in J&K’s Ganderbal. Shah today said the three new criminal laws would go a long way in cutting down the waiting time for justice. Even as the work for formulating the new laws had begun five years ago, Shah said it would take another three years to put in place the system in each state to ensure their implementation.

“Once this is done, it will take only up to three years to ensure justice for people,” the Home Minister said. Soon, the Prime Minister will inaugurate a police unit in Chandigarh, which will signal rolling out of the system to implement the criminal laws in all states gradually, Shah added.