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Mangaluru police to set up squad to check moral policing: Govt
Karnataka's home minister has announced an anti-communal wing will be set up within the police department in Mangaluru to stop moral policing. The move aims to create an environment of communal harmony. The squad will be raised in police departments across the state if successful. The minister has set a deadline of 15 August for the police department to eradicate drug issues in the coastal district. The Congress-led government will recommend compensation in all seven cases of murders with communal motives.
Bengaluru: An anti-communal wing will be set up in the police department of Mangaluru in Dakshina Kannada district to stop instances of moral policing, Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara announced on Tuesday, saying the move was aimed at creating an atmosphere of communal harmony so that people can live in peace.
If successful, such squad will be raised in police departments across the state, the minister told reporters in Mangaluru after holding a meeting with senior police officers.
“The anti-communal wing will be set up in the coming days with the appointment of necessary officials by the police commissioner. They will take all kinds of steps to stop moral policing,” Parameshwara said. “I have instructed the (Mangaluru) police commissioner to appoint competent officers from the department to manage this wing. If the anti-communal wing will be successful in Mangaluru, we will extend it to Dakshina Kannada and the entire state.”
The minister said that presence of moral policing in the society was deeply concerning. “We have a well-functioning legal system and the Karnataka Police is among the best in the country. If we allow moral policing to continue, it will tarnish the image of our department and our state, and create hardships for our people,” he said.
Explaining the rationale behind opting Mangaluru to start the wing, Parameshwara said, “In Mangaluru, a lot of so-called moral policing is happening. The people of Mangaluru are peace-loving and hardworking, and we cannot allow few anti-social elements to disrupt their way of life.”
The home minister also highlighted the Congress-led government’s determination to combat drug-related issues plaguing the coastal district. “We have set a deadline of August 15 for the police department to eradicate the drug menace and transform the region into a drug-free zone,” Parameshwara said. “I expect the police department to take stringent action against drug peddlers and consumers.”
When asked a question on compensation for those who died in communal violence, the minister told reporters that there have been seven murders with communal motives, and the government will recommend compensation in all seven cases.
The minister said there was a delay in paying compensation because the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government did not take the decision on it. “For whatever reasons, which I don’t know, the delay has occurred, but now we have initiated that step to give them compensation to their families,” he said.
Among those who died in instances of communal violence, include Deepak Rao, Mohd Fazil, Jalil, and Masood. Authorities have been instructed to submit a report on this matter.
Masood (19), a daily-wage earner from Kasaragod in Kerala, who was staying with his grandfather in Bellare, was murdered by a group of men on July 20 last year. Two days later, BJP youth wing worker Praveen Nettaru was murdered and it was perceived as the retaliation to Masood’s murder.
On July 24, Fazil (23) was hacked to death, with police saying it was in relation to the killing of Nettaru, whose family was given compensation and his wife a job by the previous BJP government.
The Congress had objected to the BJP selectively providing compensation and job to Nettaru’s family while ignoring the other two.
