Anti-rowdy squads deployed across Mysuru 

• 22 squads in City Police Commissionerate and 17 in District Police limits 

• 108 personnel in city limits alone; Top Cop Seema Latkar holds meeting 

Mysuru: In a bid to curb criminal activities and keep a close watch on habitual offenders, the City Police have constituted Anti-Rowdy Squads in all four Police Sub-Divisions — Krishnaraja, Devaraja, Narasimharaja and Vijayanagar — as well as in all 18  Police Stations within city limits. 

Addressing a press conference yesterday, City Police Commissioner Seema Latkar said the initiative follows a circular issued by the Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG&IGP) based on directions from the Chief Minister. The squads will monitor the activities of rowdy-sheeters and initiate legal action whenever they are found involved in unlawful activities. 

How the squads will function: Explaining the structure of the Anti-Rowdy Squads, the Commissioner said each squad at the Sub-Division and Police Station level will be headed by a Police Sub-Inspector (PSI). 

Each squad will comprise a minimum of four personnel, taking the total strength of the initiative to 108 officers and staff. The number of personnel in a squad will vary depending on the number of rowdy-sheeters under the jurisdiction of a particular Police Station. 

For instance, Lakshmipuram Police Station, which has 13 rowdy-sheeters on its records, will have a squad comprising one PSI and three personnel. Police Stations with higher number of rowdy-sheeters will have larger squads with up to five members, City Police Commissioner said. 

Digital fingerprints, financial profiling: The Top Cop said the Police will also collect digital fingerprints of rowdy-sheeters and assess their financial status to facilitate closer monitoring and timely preventive action. In addition to the squads formed at Police Station and Sub-Division levels, a city-level Anti-Rowdy Squad has also been constituted. The squad will function under the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) and will be supervised by the City Crime Branch (CCB). 

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime and Traffic) K.S. Sundar Raj was present.