Ensuring free and fair election is our priority, says Mangaluru Police Commissioner Sandeep Patil
Exclusive interview with the officer as he completes one month at office
Mangaluru: On February 21, senior IPS officer Sandeep Patil, assumed charge as new Commissioner of Mangaluru Police.
One month after he took over , Sandeep Patil has already carved a reputation for himself of being a no-nonsense cop. He has led a surprise raid at the district jail premises, continued the crackdown on drugs peddlers, has taken measures to curb traffic menace in the city and has more importantly reprimanded the anti-social elements and rowdy-sheeters in the wake of LS election.
On Friday, March 22 Vartha Bharati sub-editor Ismail Zaorez, caught up with the officer at his office for an exclusive interview wherein he spoke on a range of topics and shared his experiences of the city so far.
Excerpts from the interview:
Your views on Mangaluru city after completing one month at the office?
I was very happy to be posted here. It’s been one month now since I took charge as the Commissioner of Mangaluru Police. Mangaluru is a challenging posting for any officer. Having served in places like Belgaum, Davangere, Bengaluru city and Bellary I had never got the opportunity to work in coastal region, so I am really looking forward to this posting. The last one month here has been great experience for me. I have been interacting with people from different backgrounds and cultures. And since it is the election year, a lot of work has also been done in the last one month.
Do you think working here in Mangaluru during election is different than working in any part of the state/country?
During election the police department has to work in accordance with certain set of guidelines in order to ensure free and fair elections. So those things have to be followed irrespective of where we are posted. This is the fourth election as an officer, previously I have served places like Belgaum, Bengaluru City, Bellary and Davangere during elections.
The guidelines include weapon deposit, action against rowdy-sheeters and anti-social elements, setting up of checkposts etc, we have been working on all these things from last one month. We make sure that we take the complete control over anti-social elements which has been my focus right from the day one at office.
We have kept anti-social elements, rowdy-sheeters and those who can cause problems and disturbance under our surveillance they are being tracked as a precautionary measure.
So election work is more or less the same irrespective of the place you are posted at but of course there are local challenges everywhere. Similarly there are certain local challenges here in Mangaluru, and keeping that in mind we have been doing the election preparations.
What according to you are the core issues of Mangaluru?
Mangaluru is an ever-growing city, probably anyone who saw the city couple of years back will be surprised by the growth of the city today and every growth comes with its own challenges. With urbanization, increase in population and increase in vehicular movement will be there. So traffic congestion is a problem and we are trying to tackle it.
Secondly, in Mangaluru we need to take strict measures to ensure peace and harmony here. There have been a few incidents in last couple of years which disturbed the peace and harmony of the region. Now, to ensure free and fair elections the challenge for us to control all the anti-social elements in the run up to the polls.
Thirdly, another problem here is the social media, although it has its own uses but it can also be misused and false information can be made viral within seconds which can lead to the law and order situation. So we are trying to have control over the social media as well.
We have also set up our social media platforms including twitter. I have been very active on twitter and have asked people to co-operate with us, report the issues, problems and illegal activities in their localities, ensuring quick action against their concerns.
Growing vehicular movement has led to traffic congestion in prime locations in the city which has made the residents concerned about it. How are you planning to tackle it?
Tackling the traffic problem is the top priority at the moment and a lot of steps have been taken in last one month in this regard. We have added two towing vehicles to our fleet of vehicles and vehicles which are parked at wrong places and inappropriate positions are being towed to police stations. In order to make roads pedestrians friendly we have put zebra crossings at various junctions in the city.
Measures have also been taken against drunken driving and triple riding. Lorries and tippers carrying sands, jelly stones and other construction materials have been asked to cover the materials with tarpaulin compulsorily and actions are being initiated against the violators of this law.
Your appeal to the people of Mangaluru ahead of the Lok Sabha Election?
I will appeal to all the people of Mangaluru to come out in large numbers for voting on the Election Day. The Mangaluru police are taking every step to ensure peaceful, free and fair elections. Feel free and don’t be scared of anyone. Police department is there for your safety and it will take action against anyone who is trying to disturb peace in the region. Again, people need not worry of be fearful of anyone, police will take care of them and of the peace and harmony of the city.
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Delhi High Court to hear disqualification plea against PM Modi
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court will hear a petition requesting to disqualify Prime Minister Narendra Modi from contesting elections for a period of six years. The plea, filed by lawyer Anand S Jondhale, accuses PM Modi of soliciting votes for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by invoking Hindu and Sikh deities and places of worship.
The petition calls for the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take action under the Representation of Peoples Act, urging PM Modi's disqualification and a prohibition on soliciting votes in the name of religious figures and sites.
The petitioner's grievance stems from PM Modi's speech delivered on April 9th in Uttar Pradesh, where he allegedly invoked Hindu and Sikh deities and made remarks favouring certain religious groups over others.
Jondhale contends that PM Modi's speeches have the potential to incite religious and caste-based animosity among voters, and thus calls for action in accordance with the Model Code of Conduct.
Earlier, Jondhale had lodged a complaint with the ECI, seeking the registration of an FIR against PM Modi under Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code and his disqualification from elections for six years. However, he claims that no action has been taken by the ECI on the matter thus far.
