Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday lauded the Indian Navy for its “daring operation” to rescue 21 crew members on board a hijacked merchant vessel in the Arabian Sea as he addressed the country’s top security brass on the concluding day of the closed-door annual security conference.

In his address at the annual director general of police/inspector general of police conference in Jaipur, the PM also said that the three new criminal laws would mark a paradigm shift in the criminal justice system.

“Two days ago, Indian Navy carried out a very daring operation. As soon as an SOS message was received from the merchant vessel, which had 21 crew members including 15 Indians, Navy’s marine commandos actively responded, reached about 2,000 kms in the Arabian Sea and rescued all of them. You must have seen the (rescue) video in which crew is chanting Bharat Mata Ki Jai,” the PM said according to an official release.

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The Navy deployed its guided missile destroyer INS Chennai to monitor and assist MV Lila Norfolk after its crew of 21 people, including 15 Indians, informed the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) on Thursday evening that five to six “unauthorised armed persons” had boarded the vessel 460 nautical miles east of Eyl in Somalia.

Marine commandos chased and boarded the Liberian-flagged vessel and evacuated all crew members from a strongroom in which they had been sheltering to avoid being taken hostage. “Sanitisation by the marine commandos has confirmed absence of the hijackers,” a navy spokesperson had said after the operation.

At the conference on Sunday, the PM also called upon police officers across the country to “think imaginatively” for conveying the emotional spirit behind the recently enacted criminal laws, which he said were framed with a “citizens first” approach.

He also exhorted the police to focus on women safety and sensitize them about their rights and protection provided under the new laws.

“The Prime Minister said that the enactment of these laws was a paradigm shift in the criminal justice system. He emphasised that the new criminal laws were framed with the spirit of ‘citizen first, dignity first and justice first’ and instead of working with ‘danda’ (stick approach), the police now needs to work with ‘data’. He exhorted the police chiefs to think imaginatively to convey the emotional spirit behind the newly enacted laws to the different sections of society,” the statement issued by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) said.

The three criminal law bills — Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, and Bharatiya Saksha (Second) Bill — were passed in Parliament during the recently concluded Winter Session, and will replace the British-era Indian Penal Code.

On women’s safety, Modi told the DGs/IGs of police, paramilitary forces and intelligence agencies that a special focus should be placed on sensitizing women and girls about their rights and protection provided to them under the new criminal laws.

“He exhorted police to focus on women safety by ensuring that women could work fearlessly ‘kabhi bhi aur kahin bhi’ (anywhere anytime),” PIB said.

Underscoring the need to reinforce the positive image of the police among citizens, the PM advised the chiefs that social media should be used at the police station level for disseminating positive information and messages for the benefit of citizens.

“He also suggested using social media for disseminating advance information on natural calamities and disaster relief,” the PIB release added. The PM also suggested organising sports events to strengthen police-citizens connect.

The PM urged the Indian police force to “transform itself” into a modern and world class force in line with the improving global profile and increasing national strength of the country so as to realise the vision of a developed India by 2047.

An official who attended the event said that “creating better infrastructure and intelligence capabilities, particularly with respect to China and Pakistan, and illegal entry of individuals from land borders” also came up during one of the sessions.

Modi asked the government officials to “stay in border villages to establish better ‘connect’ with local populace as these border villages were the ‘first villages’ of India”, the PIB statement said.

The PM also congratulated the country’s scientific community a day after Aditya-L1 was successfully docked in its orbit around L1.

Modi said, “Aditya-L1 [the country’s first solar observatory] has travelled 1.5 million kms to reach its designated parking spot in time. It will directly face the Sun, which will allow us to carry out scientific studies”.

“After Chandrayan’s historic success, this is a brilliant display of India and its scientists’ capabilities,” Modi said, while asserting that India was emerging as a major power in the world.

The three-day conference saw discussions on about 15 topics in as many sessions related to national security including border security, cyber-crimes, implementation of the new criminal laws, insurgency in different parts, activities of China and Pakistan, overstaying foreigners, radical organizations, Khalistani activities, and the use of technology in policing.