Agartala, Jan 3 (IANS): Indian Police Service officer Abhijit Saptarshi has been adjudged 'Policeman of the Year' in Tripura for his outstanding performance in dealing with crime and other law and order situation, the state police announced.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar on Tuesday conferred the award to 37-year-old Saptarshi at a function here on the occasion of the 'Police Week 2017'.

According to a senior police official, Saptarshi as district police chief of West and North Tripura districts has done brilliantly to curb inter-state and domestic crimes, besides successfully dealing with many political troubles and agitations.

Saptarshi is an IPS officer of the 2008 batch and hails from Mumbai.

The official said Saptarshi, who holds a Master's degree in Science for Urban Policy, took some innovative steps bringing down the number of crime cases sharply in West Tripura in 2015 compared to 2014.

The second battalion of Tripura State Rifles was awarded for being the best TSR battalion, while Kalyanpur police station in Khowai district was adjudged the best police station.

Budhu Debbarma, a sub-inspector of police in Unakoti district, got the best investigator's award.

The police week is observed in Tripura every year to evaluate the performance of the police administration and to bring the people-police relation closer.

While addressing the police here, Sarkar asked all ranks of the state police to remain alert for possible terror situation in the state.

"We have tamed the decades-old militancy in our state but the terrorists are not yet finished. They have hideouts and camps in Bangladesh. We should not be complacent in our success," Sarkar said.

"Though the state government is trying hard to modernise the state police forces, the central government did not help the state appropriately," Sarkar said, asking the policemen here to deepen their friendship with the people.