‘Mangaluru is communally sensitive’ is a myth : Outgoing Police Commissioner TR Suresh
english.varthabharati.in exclusive interview
Thanks Mangaluru people for being cooperative
Mangaluru: In a major reshuffle in the police department ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections, state government on Thursday, 21 February, issued the transfer orders of 30 IPS officers from across the state.
Senior IPS officer and Mangaluru Police Commissioner, T. R Suresh, was also one among the 30 who received transfer orders with immediate effect.
Having been served the city for a couple of years the senior cop had carved a reputation for himself of being a disciplined and dedicated officer, working constantly for the betterment of the city and its residents.
Having handed over the charge to the new commissioner Sandeep Patil on Friday, and set to leave the city on Sunday February 24, Vartha Bharati sub-editor Ismail Zaorez, caught up with the outgoing officer for an exclusive interview at his residence on Saturday evening, wherein he spoke on a range of topics and shared his experiences of the city.
Excerpts from the interview:
As the one responsible for law and order in Mangaluru, what are the challenges you faced in the city during your posting here?
Having to work in Mangaluru itself is challenging, people from different communities, natives and states live here, this is good and shows the diversity of the country but at times it becomes challenging to administrate things in sensitive issues. Having said that, I will clarify that ‘Mangaluru is communally sensitive’ is a myth, there is no truth whatsoever in that.
If Mangaluru is not communally sensitive, then why do you think the city has the tag of being communally sensitive?
I will blame social media for this, issues here are publicized more than it should be and then it is colored communally. Social Media is playing the most dangerous role here, and it is being used in the most vicious way possible, by people who have individual or organizational interests to disturb the peace. Otherwise Mangaluru is nothing different of any city of this country. Go to any major city, no city is free from communal factors, I believe it is the social media that is making the difference here.
Add to it people from both the major communities are strong here, you don’t find people of any one communities in majority all across the city. In other cities it is a few localities that any one community dominates, but here nobody has a lion’s share, both communities have almost equal presence everywhere.
What are some of the most challenging cases you had to deal with here?
To name a few, there was this Deepak Rao and Abdul Basheer murder cases of January 2018, there was Ashraf Murder case of June 2017 and then there was Sharad Madivala murder case. All these cases were challenging and sensitive and we had to work very carefully, while balancing the investigations and also maintaining law and order in the region.
‘Mangaluru chalo bike rally’ was also a difficult law and order situation I came across.It was also very sensitive.
Your crackdown on drugs mafia, along with your team of two dynamic DCPs Hanumanatharaya and Uma Prashant, was much talked and praised about. comments?
Yes, this is something I am really happy to talk about. We were very successful in cracking down drugs mafia. There have been a lot of efforts into this operation. Of course , We did not just arrested and booked cases against peddlers and kingpins. But what is more significant and needs to be discussed is , we identified the consumers and programmed their rehabilitation and also organised awareness drives.
Students are the most vulnerable to these drugs mafia. So we worked in that direction and made sure, we can neutralize them, by creating awareness among their ‘potential victims’. I am very happy we were successful in doing so, Hanumantharaya and Uma Prashant also played key roles in this, whilst I also want to mention that throughout my posting I received support from all quarters and every single officer of the department. I am grateful to all of them.
Now that you and Uma Prashant are transferred, the team of trio (He along with DCPs Uma Prashant, Hanumantharaya)have parted ways . How do you think the new team should work?
Sandeep is a very efficient officer. I am sure the new team will be successful too. Sandeep has already clarified that he will take forward the initiatives started by us like phone-in programme and others.So I am sure , they will succeed.
What is your message to the people of Mangaluru?
Again, I will admit it that Mangaluru is not communally sensitive, it’s just the hype. If people want to remove this tag, they will have to use social media very carefully and responsibly. A lot of surveys have shown that Mangaluru is among the safest cities, even then it is tagged as ‘communally sensitive’, it is all hype. If people can be more responsible on social media, this tag will soon go away.
People have been really cooperative throughout my posting here. I am grateful to them. I can’t thank them all individually. So I take this opportunity to thank them all for being so cooperative all throughout.
Having been in IPS for so long and rising through ranks, is there anything you are expecting in your career before retiring?
It’s been 30 long years since I joined the services, and to be honest I am happy with what I have done and what I have got in return. It has been a satisfactory career so far with two more years remaining before I retire.
I have been rewarded by the department for what I have done. I have received two president’s medal in my career. It has been a spotless career and I am glad for that.
I will also advise young officers to work efficiently and honestly for people and the country. They should focus on working according to the people’s need and towards the end of their respective careers they will be satisfied with whatever they have done or achieved.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
