DK District law and order: Free hand to criminals?
The developments witnessed in Dakshina Kannada district over the past few days have exposed who actually controls the law and order situation in the district. When the deputy commissioner (DC) warns miscreants not to take the law into their hands, the DC not only receives open threats to life but also gets transferred within two days of having issued the warning. People’s representatives who are supposed to extend support to the DC, assigned with the responsibility of maintaining the law and order in the district, choose to not react, thereby extending their silent support to the anti-social elements. These developments have raised several significant questions and triggered anxiety among the people of the district whether the Sangha Parivar is a sub-branch of the police department.
Dakshina Kannada DC Sindhu B. Rupesh had recently convened a high-level meeting of district officials. The main objective of convening the meeting was to ensure that law and order are maintained in the district. Any untoward incident or unrest in the district could leave an impact on the people of the district already battered by the Coronavirus, lockdown, and other developments. In this context, the meeting assumed significance. After the meeting, DC issued two main orders.
One order was against those indulging in ‘illegal, unlawful cattle transport’. ‘In view of Bakrid, slaughterhouse operations should not be run illegally. Stringent action would be taken against those indulging in illegal transport of cows and the killing of cows,’ was the gist of the order.
The other order was against ‘fake cow protectors.’ ‘It is an offence to stop, indulge in brawls, and assault the transportation of cattle. If illegal activities are noticed, police should be informed immediately. Instead, if anyone takes the law into their hands, stringent action would be taken against them,’ the order warned.
The moment the second order was issued, miscreants of the Sangh Parivar vented their ire on social media. They not only criticized the DC but also started hurling several allegations against her and went to the extent of issuing her a life threat. Though the police filed a suo-moto case and arrested the accused, the question is not against the threats to the DC per se but rather about who is responsible for the growth of such miscreants of the Sangh Parivar who openly issue such life threats against the senior-most officer of the district administration for simply asking the people follow the law.
There is no doubt that ‘fake cow protectors’ are extortionists operating in the garb of cow-protectors. These vigilantes have neither reared cows nor hold any sort of an emotional connect with them. This ‘fake cow protection’ is, in fact, proving to be a headache for those who eke out living rearing cows and selling milk, and is not helping anyone.
Many of them face several serious allegations of stopping poor farmers from selling their cattle, threatening and capturing the cattle, and selling them secretly to slaughterhouses and minting money on the pretext of sending them into cattle protection centres. At the same time, they indulge in threatening and seizing cash and mobile from the hapless cattle transporters. Criminal cases are registered against many of them.
Rejected by society as goondas in the past, they are now wearing the fancy dress of ‘cow protectors’ and trying to gain credibility and social acceptance. If the police try to take action against them, they take shelter under religion, culture, and different masks they wear. They are also the foot-soldiers of a political party and have therefore become a huge challenge in the maintenance of law and order. Emboldened by the backing of political leaders, they have now grown to the extent of sending threatening messages through social media to the DC. The DC is not the only one who is responsible for ensuring that miscreants don’t hijack the law and order situation in a district. People’s representatives who have won popular votes are also equally responsible. When the DC tried to protect the law and order and received life threats, the peoples’ representatives should have immediately responded and stood in support of the DC. But through their silence, these representatives indirectly supported the extremists. Ironically, DC was transferred within two days after the orders were issued. People are now suspecting that DC’s commitment to work is perhaps responsible for the unexpected transfer. Does it then mean that political leaders are of the view that law and order need not be maintained in the district? Or does it mean that the responsibility of maintaining law and order has been handed over to these miscreants who are facing criminal charges?
As though to corroborate this, an incident occurred recently in Belthangady taluk. A meeting of police officers convened by Belthangady MLA about preventing cattle lifting and illegal transport of cattle was attended by Sangh Parivar leaders. What was the need for the presence of ‘fake cow protectors’ of Sangha Parivar in the meeting of police officials convened to stop illegal cow transportation? Many of the Sangha Parivar leaders who attended the meeting are facing criminal cases. By inviting them to the meeting and sitting alongside them, the legislator has not only dented the image of the law enforcement agencies but also brought down the morale of the police. If those who are supposed to be in prison sit alongside the police in an official meeting called by the legislator, what is the message that the legislator is sending across? It is similar to giving wolves the role of protecting sheep. These developments expose the way in which the miscreants of Sangh Parivar have an unlawful nexus with the police department in the district. How can we then expect law and order and peace to prevail in Dakshina Kannada? And how can a new DC be expected to act boldly in matters of law and order in the district?
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
