Write Comment     |     E-Mail To a Friend     |     Facebook     |     Twitter     |     Print

Udupi : The police will take more actions against sand mafia in Udupi district, said Alok Mohan, Additional Director of General Police on Monday, 3^rd April, 2017.

He was addressing media persons at District Police Office after holding review meeting of police officers here said that issue of assault of attempt to murder of Deputy Commissioner Priyanka Mary Francis, Assistant Commissioner Shilpa Nag and Village Accountant Kantharaj when they conducted a raid on sand extraction site at Kandlur near Kundapur.

He said DC is the head of the task force to regulate the sand mining in the state and also district magistrate who is taking steps in curbing the illegal sand mining in the district. While conducting a rain there is not necessary to inform anyone and she has the right to acquaint herself to the developments in the district. To query, he said that though Priyanka Mary Francis could have taken the police with her, she decided to do a spot visit herself. The DC was supposed to inform task force committee members like SP, Tahsidar, RTO, CEO of ZP and others. In order to brake information from task force, she decided to do it on their own which aggressive mob attacked them.

To query on political influence or pressure on police in the case, ADVP Alok Mohan said that we are government officials which law does not differentiate on community, caste or politics.

He said people in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada district are educated and brilliant. Strict action will be initiated against the accused involved in creating a ruckus and threatening to kill the deputy commissioner and this type of crime not tolerated. The police had arrested seven persons in this connection. SP Balakrishna took action immediately after the information and dispatched a team of policemen to the area.

ADGP said that in order to improve policing measures, it had been decided to improve the beat system by making the head constables and police constables in charge of designated areas in the district. So, the number of beats in any police station would be equal to the number of head and police constables it had which help the constables will develop close relation with the people and improve community policing.

The police will book those involved in gambling, illegal sand extraction under Goonda Act. Drop boxes would be kept in schools and colleges so that students could lodge their complaints without writing their names. Police officers had been instructed to go to schools and colleges and interact with students so that they kept from drugs etc., ADGP said.

Deputy Commissioner Priyanks Mary Francis said that more stringent measures will be taken to crack on illegal sand mining in the district. We have learnt a lesson. In future we will go with all precautionary measures. The meeting of the task force committee has been called to discuss the issue and we will take strong action. We feared that the information about the raid would be leaked through the members task force and if we had taken precautionary measures that would have better prepared to face the situation.

SP Balakrishna said that as soon as we got the information about the incident we took immediate measures and we arrested seven accused in the case. The six people more involved in the act are from UP and Bihar states, one injured also an accused and other accused people will be arrested soon. The complaint lodged in Udupi Town Police by the DC.

Vishnuvardhan ASP, Kumaraswamy DySP and other officials were present during the press meet.