- 4 pm to 6.30 pm: Seizures at Mysuru Central Jail
- 6.30 pm to 9.30 pm: Cash, freebie movement on roads
- 11.30 pm to 1 am: Checking people carrying weapons
- 5 am to 6.30 am: Houses of 50 known rowdy-sheeters
Mysore/Mysuru: Over 2,500 Policemen from City Civil, CCB and Traffic wings were roped in for a 14.5-hour search or raids to check for rowdy elements, contraband and narcotics in jail, transportation of cash, liquor and election-freebies on the roads and search for weapons in the houses of 50 noted rowdy-sheeters.
Probably this is for the first time such a continuous and prolonged raid has been conducted by the Police even before the election dates have been announced and before the election Model Code of Conduct has been enforced.
The raids were conducted based on the directive of City Police Commissioner Ramesh Banoth and carried out under the leadership of DCP (Law and Order) M. Muthuraj and DCP (Crime and Traffic) S. Jahnavi. The raids assume significance as the 2023 Assembly election is fast approaching where there will be a flurry of activities to woo voters and marked by several VVIP movements.
The 14.5-hour raid began at 4 pm yesterday with a massive raid on the Mysuru Central Prison. The overall team was led by DCP Muthuraj and six teams were formed including one team to raid the barracks of women jail inmates.
These teams were headed by six ACPs, six Inspectors, 16 Sub-Inspectors and over 150 Policemen. Dog squads, metal detectors and narcotics teams were also part of the raiding teams. Thoroughly checking all the barracks and cells, the raiding teams recovered Rs. 60,000 in cash, 100-gram ganja, one dagger and tobacco products.
Full force involved
After the raids on the jail, the Policemen were asked to get onto the streets to check vehicles from 6.30 pm to 9.30 pm where barricades were laid on all the roads to check the movements of cash, weapons, election freebies and other poll-related materials.
This massive checking was conducted by over 2,500 Policemen drawn from various service wings of the City Police. All the entry and exit points of the city like the Manipal Hospital Junction on the Mysuru-Bengaluru Highway, Bannur Road, Mahadevapura Road, T. Narasipur Road, Nanjangud Road, H.D. Kote Road, Bogadi Road, Hunsur Road, Hootagalli and Koorgalli Roads, KRS Road and Sunanda Factory Road were secured and all vehicles were checked. The occupants of the vehicles were questioned about their whereabouts, the destination within the city and the purpose of their visit.
Echo of murder
From 11.30 pm to 1 am, Police teams were stationed in front of bars and wine stores to check people carrying weapons on them. This is the fallout of the incident where one youth was stabbed to death on Chamaraja Double Road on the night of Mar. 19. The youths fought with each other over a petty issue after consuming liquor at a local bar.
City Police Commissioner Ramesh Banoth and DCP Muthuraj were personally involved in this raid along with the Commando Police team. Secluded areas like Lalithadripura, the foot of Chamundi Hill and the Ring Road were surveyed and cleansed.
In another raid on a bar in Nazarbad, a team led by ACP Shanthamallappa seized five cases of liquor. The bar and restaurant was serving liquor beyond permissible hours. The bar cashier has been summoned for questioning, Police sources said.
Early morning raids
The Police teams were given a short break and again the raids started at 5 am today, where the houses of 50 known rowdy-sheeters were searched. Teams spread out at various parts of the city where these rowdy-sheeters reside and also commonly frequent.
This raid is the extension of the raids that took place on Feb. 14 and according to the Police, one ‘long’ (machete) was recovered from a house this morning.
Raids will continue
“Our intention is to drive home the point that the Police are watching. We want to ensure free and fair election and at the same time, want to tie the hands of rowdy elements. The raids will continue and there will be zero tolerance to crime, violence, voter threatening and enticing. The Police presence on the streets itself is a big deterrent.” — Ramesh Banoth, Police Commissioner, Mysuru city
This post was published on March 21, 2023 8:00 pm