The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Navy’s help sought to patrol coast

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Monday, Sep 29, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Navy’s help sought to patrol coast

B.S. Ramesh

Five coastal police stations to be set up in three districts
Four more bomb detection squads
to be formed

BANGALORE: Karnataka has sought the help of the Indian Navy to police the coastal belts of Mangalore, Udupi and Karwar districts.

The State police have sent a letter to the Indian Navy seeking its cooperation in patrolling the three districts. The request comes close on the heels of the spurt in terrorist activities in the State.

Director-General and Inspector-General of Police, R. Sri Kumar told The Hindu on Saturday that the letter to the Navy was routed through the Home Ministry.

Apart from seeking the expertise of the Navy to patrol the high seas, the State police had decided to open five coastal police stations in the three districts. One such station had been opened at Malpe, he said.

These police stations would be equipped with state-of-the-art technology. There was also a proposal to fit global positioning satellite (GPS) devices on all boats and fishing vessels so that their location could be constantly manned by the coastal police stations. The police network along the coast was being strengthened, he said.

To effectively counter the threat from terrorists, the State police have planned to set up at least four more bomb disposal/detection squads. One of the squads is slated to be set up in Mangalore. At present, the State has only one bomb squad headquartered in Bangalore.

Collection of evidence

The State police have also decided to initiate steps to hone in the skills of policemen by drilling into them the importance of preserving a scene of crime for collection of evidence.

The issue has gained importance with the serial bomb blasts in Bangalore some time ago and attacks on some religious places of worship. Mr. Sri Kumar said that constables were being trained in batches on initiating measures to preserve the scene of crime. The programme had already started, he said.

Some of the other measures initiated by the police are to reactivate and revamp the anti-terrorist squad, and to make the personnel tech-savvy.

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