Here, his suggestion to the police was: “People should be willing to approach a policeman with the same assurance with which they visit a doctor. That should be your goal.”

On Naxalism, which is being discussed at length at the conference, Singh said there was a need to work with “greater commitment” and “police forces need to redouble their efforts” to control its spread.

The National Police Mission, which is working out a new vision for the police and their functioning, should develop a culture of excellence within the force. The Prime Minister felt the mission should also study community policing, non-registration of FIRs, new methods of crowd dispersal and a more user-friendly police uniform.

The Prime Minister also gave away the President’s Police Medal for distinguished service to police officers, including his son-in-law Ashok Kumar Patnaik who is a Joint Director in the Intelligence Bureau.