Khader alerts top cop about stabbing incidents in city

MANGALURU: Minister for health and family welfare U T Khader met Mangaluru city police chief S Murugan on Saturday.
The minister brou ght to the fore the recent spate of stabbings in Mangaluru assembly constituency and urged the city police to go after the culprits. Minister Khader described the attacks as a concerted attempt to stoke communal passions in the region.
Describing the victims of stabbings at Nadupadav and Talapady as innocents who are not a part of any fringe group, Khader said he had already flagged his concerns about the incidents to Murugan.
Asserting that he and the state government had given police a free hand to rein in such miscreants, Khader said it is imperative for police to take everyone into confidence while cracking down hard on the troublemakers. Khader even suggested that city police hand-pick efficient policemen of all ranks and form a team that can go after the culprits in a concerted manner. "Since my constituency borders Kerala, it is very easy for motorcycle-bound miscreants who commit crimes to disappear wherever they choose to," he surmised. It is a known fact that the troublemakers are few in a civil society and it should not be difficult for the police to identify them and initiate action, he pointed out.
Acknowledging Khader's concerns, Murugan told TOI, "We are on track to nab the miscreants. The minister did suggest a certain course of action, which as a professional policing unit, we will consider." Not going into the specifics of what the action is or will be, Murugan said, adding that the cops will factor in these plaints in our regular policing."
Averring that the recent attacks are predominantly a game of one-upmanship involving fringe or communal elements in both communities, Murugan said it is the silence of the mainstream society that is emboldening these anti-social elements.
"The fact that there is a deep-seated animosity between the two communities is also a challenge that the police force has to take into account while striking a balance in maintaining law and order," he pointed out.
To an observation by minister Khader that police were focusing on issues other than law and order or crime detection, Murugan said it is not possible to straightjacket the functioning of police.
"We have to play larger-than-life roles in many situations, which can be perceived otherwise." Police can do a lot better, Murugan said, adding that the personnel are striving hard to do the same despite various constraints they face. "We too need to back the men on the field to do their job," he said.