Curbing drug menace is not rocket science: Karnataka Home Minister
He also conducted a progress review and then addressed the officers. On the issue of drug control, he said that the Chief Minister has issued strict directions.
'Curbing the drug menace is not rocket science. The department has sufficient strength. Investigating officers must involve themselves deeply in drug-related cases. In any case, the prime accused must never be spared,' he said while addressing officers on the second day of the senior police officers' annual review meeting held at the office of the Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG and IGP).
'Different districts face different kinds of problems. Officers must work on the ground. Issues such as hate crimes and communal clashes may arise. Festivals such as Ganesh Chaturthi and Muharram come with their own challenges. If officers don't observe these challenges firsthand, what is the point?' he questioned.
Referring to crimes against Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, women, and children, he noted that the conviction rate remains low.
Investigating officers must consult public prosecutors and take necessary guidance. 'Some officers are not following this, and this is one of the reasons why accused persons are escaping the law,' he warned.
'To prevent atrocities against SC and ST communities, 33 DCRE (District Crime Record and Enforcement) police stations have been set up across the state. These must be made effective,' he said.
Parameshwara added that if the 'Police at Your Doorstep' initiative is successfully implemented, the Karnataka Police Department will earn national recognition.
'When police visit homes, they understand the issues in their respective station jurisdictions. This also helps in preventing crimes,' he said.
Parameshwara stressed that many key issues of the Police Department must be discussed. Expert consultations should be held regarding various problems, and appropriate suggestions should be sought to aid investigations. The structure of the annual review meeting should be redesigned with this aim in mind.
District-level progress reviews are already being conducted at the Range level. At the annual conference, it is enough to present state-level data, he added.
'New technologies must be adopted. Karnataka Police should set an example for the rest of the country,' Parameshwara stated.
He further added that the police must work more effectively, in line with the expectations of the government and the public.
'When citizens come to the station, their complaints should be accepted without making them run around repeatedly. Police must respond in a people-friendly manner,' he said.
He further stated that officers and personnel of the police department must be provided with advanced technological training. Senior officers must think seriously and act accordingly.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Why Goa says no to plaster idols of Ganesh
Ahead of August 27, when Ganesh Chaturthi, the most popular festival in Maharashtra and Goa, begins this year, the Goa government has banned the import, transportation and sale of Ganesh idols made from plaster of Paris (PoP) citing its adverse effects on public health and the environment. In South Goa, the district collectorate has issued a memorandum asking deputy collectors to monitor the situation, enforce the government's directive, and file complaints in court against violators under relevant sections of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Chitrashalas—the workshops where Ganesh idols are crafted and given finishing touches—are being inspected, says Egna Cleetus, Collector, South Goa Goa Pollution Control Board, too, is taking samples from the chitrashalas to check for the presence of PoP in idols, with or without clay, in the making and crafting of idols. No PoP traces have been detected so several PoP idols were being brought in from neighbouring states for sale in Goa during the Ganesh festival, the state government's department of environment and climate change notes in its directive that the idols manufactured from hydrated calcium sulphate by the calcification process harm the environment as they do not dissolve or disintegrate fast enough after immersion in water. Moreover, the chemical paints and dyes applied on the idols include toxic substances such as mercury, zinc oxide, chromium, lead and cadmium, which harm marine life. These are carcinogenic to humans when worship in Maharashtra used to be a modest, private ritual, with small, hand-crafted idols made from local clay, until 1893-94, when, following a series of Hindu-Muslim riots, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak elevated the festival to a public spectacle. The most popular festival among both Muslims and Hindus in the 19th-century Bombay presidency had been Muharram. In Pune, the taziyas or taboots representing the tombs of the martyrs of the battle of Karbala were installed in the wadas (mansions) of prominent aristocratic families like the Rastes, the Khasgiwales and the Kunjirs. Tilak wrote against the British government's moves to curb Muharram processions during the bubonic plague epidemic. There is a photograph of the nationalist leader participating in one such procession at the Budhwar Chowk in Pune in 1892. The scholar 'Ahitagni' Shankar Ramchandra Rajwade writes how the Brahmin Bhikobadada Agashe, a renowned wrestler in the Lokhande Talim in Pune, would don the attire of a malang (Muslim faqir) and perform the lezim before the taziya procession of the Ghodepir dargah in Pune, with his disciples. The Ghodepir procession was so revered and popular that a bullock cart used to move around with it to collect the revdis (a sweet) showered on it by bystanders and with Hindus refusing to commemorate Muharram due to sectarian tensions, the number of taboots in Pune fell to around 50-75 in 1894 from a much higher 400 the previous year and Tilak began promoting the celebration of Ganesh Utsav, which soon replaced Muharram in its popularity among the masses. Though many credit Bhau Lakshman Javale a.k.a. Bhausaheb Rangari for launching the celebration, Tilak's massive popularity and mass contact helped popularise it. Soon it spread to the neighbouring states such as Goa and Karnataka, which have organic cultural and economic linkages with shift to plaster idols has its origins in tinsel town. The movie Navrang (1959), produced and directed by the legendary V. Shantaram, featured a 11-feet Ganpati idol, crafted in-house by his Rajkamal Kalamandir studio, in a dance scene depicting the Holi festival. This idol was later immersed ceremoniously, says his son Kiran Shantaram. Idols worshipped at the public Ganesh mandals used to be much smaller in comparison, but this trend of installing huge PoP idols gradually caught on. Gradually, even households switched to these and environmentalists note that PoP pollutes water sources and enters the human food chain through seafood. PoP is made by heating gypsum to remove water, resulting in a powder that hardens when mixed with water. A 2023 study on the Tapi river, which runs through Maharashtra's northern edge, found a clear correlation between PoP idol immersion and degraded water quality. The paints often contain toxic metals like lead and cadmium. PoP itself may take months—or even years—to dissolve, raising water hardness and harming aquatic life. The PoP clogs the burrows of fish and crabs, damages mangrove roots, and is blamed for affecting the breeding of Bombay duck, sponges and other marine annual use of PoP across Maharashtra is about 4,500 tonnes, with Mumbai alone accounting for 675 tonnes, notes the 2023 study. PoP and clay idols from Pen in Raigad district and nearby areas like Hamrapur, Tambadseth, Johe, Kalave and Dadar are exported to states like Goa and Gujarat, and even others say PoP idols are cheaper and lighter than those made of clay, leading to the end consumers preferring them. The idols are also said to be durable and 2000, the rationalist and anti-superstition group Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti (MANS) launched a campaign in Kolhapur seeking to dissuade citizens from immersing plaster idols in the Rankala lake, but its activists faced a wall of opposition. In 2005, the late Narendra Dabholkar of MANS filed a PIL with the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court. On January 30, the court, in an interim order, instructed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and other civic bodies in Maharashtra to strictly enforce the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) 2020 guidelines—against the use and immersion of PoP idols, even in artificial tanks, during the Maghi Ganeshutsav (January-February).On June 9, the court modified its order, allowing the manufacture and sale of PoP idols, albeit with a caveat that they cannot be immersed in natural water bodies. This followed a submission by a CPCB expert panel that clarified the 2020 guidelines were advisory, not binding. In May, the state government's Rajiv Gandhi Science and Technology Commission had also submitted a report to the high court on eco-friendly approaches to the immersion of Ganesh idols, and strategies to minimise pollution of water bodies like the use of smaller idols and eco-friendly July 24, a bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep Marne cleared the decks for the immersion of only those idols exceeding the height of 6 feet in natural water bodies. All idols below the height of 6 feet shall be immersed only in artificial water tanks. The court's order will prevail until March to India Today Magazine- Ends
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Dharmasthala case: Home Minister warns of action against those posting provocative and defamatory content on social media
Taking note of the alleged provocative and defamatory posts on social media on the ongoing investigation in Dharmasthala, Home Minister G. Parameshwara on Monday warned of stringent action if the trend continues. 'If you do not regulate yourself, the government will have to regulate you,' the Home Minister warned those using social media to post their views on the Dharmasthala row. Replying to a debate in the Legislative Assembly on the 'alleged efforts to defame Dharmasthala pilgrimage centre by an anonymous person on the charges of mass burials', the Home Minister told social media users: 'Please stop it. If you continue, the government will have to take action against you.' His warning came in response to a demand by the Opposition to act against those posting content on social media, particularly those putting out 'objectionable' content on YouTube. He noted that already the government had decided to bring in a legislation to act against those spreading fake news. 'Our intention was to bring it in the ongoing legislature session. But now we may bring it in the next session,' he said. Earlier, the Opposition members, including Leader of the Opposition R. Ashok, expressed concern over 'objectionable' content on social media at a time when the Special Investigation Team was probing the allegations. BJP member S. Suresh Kumar called it a 'social media trial.' Another BJP member V. Sunil Kumar accused social media users of being 'part of the conspiracy' to mislead the probe and defame the pilgrimage centre.
The Hindu
3 hours ago
- The Hindu
Ramanthapur tragedy: Families demand justice and implementation of safety measures
As the community in Old Ramanthapur struggles to come to terms with Sunday night's fatal electrocution during the Krishna Janmashtami procession, the families of the deceased are left broken, their grief amplified by the suddenness of the loss. Hours after the incident, families queued up outside the morgue at Gandhi Hospital to claim the bodies to perform their final rites. Krishna Yadav, known fondly as 'Diamond' in his neighbourhood, was only 21. He was the only son in an extended family otherwise made up of daughters and girl cousins. His right arm was covered with rakhis till the elbow until a few days ago with all his sisters celebrating the festival. 'My son has not even turned into a proper adult, his life has been snatched away in an instant,' his mother said, weeping inconsolably. 'He was our pillar, our only hope. Now that support is gone.' A family elder said, 'For my father and grandfather, he was not just a grandson, he was like a son. We cannot accept that he is gone.' The tragedy also leaves Suresh Yadav's young family shattered. Only 34, Suresh had recently become a father earlier this year. His wife, a homemaker, now faces the prospect of raising their six-month-old baby girl without her husband, who was the sole breadwinner. 'The family is inconsolable, and his widow is pleading with the government to help her find a way to provide for their little daughter,' said a neighbour. The victims, all of whom lived in Old Ramanthapur before moving to different parts of the city, were regular participants in local religious processions, often volunteering during festivals like Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti. 'This was negligence, and it should never happen again. With Ganesh Chaturthi around the corner, there must be safety measures in place,' one relative said. Following the incident, former Uppal MLA N. V. S. S. Prabhakar led a rally in the area demanding justice on Monday morning. Until Monday evening, police battalions were seen in the pockets of Ramanthapur along with additional forces as a precautionary measures. For now, however, the cries of mothers, wives and children fill the narrow lanes of Ramanthapur, where the five men set out on a devotional procession but never returned home.
