Bengaluru City Police

Third Saturday of the month is the time to talk traffic trouble with BTP. People from Koramangala, Silk Board, BTM layout, HSR Layout, Bommanahalli, Bellandur and Sarjapur turn up at the Madivala police station to discuss the various problems dogging pedestrians, motorists and road users in general. Madiwala traffic police public meeting. Pic: Meera K On February 18, members of Spandana Nagarika Vedike from BTM layout and a few other residents brought the list of their problems. Bommanahalli auto stand should be removed. It is causing more nuisance than helping.Request for a road hump on Gandhi Road.Usage of the flyover…

Bangalore Traffic Police (BTP) won the ‘Golden Peacock Awards for Innovative Product/Service’ for its B-TRAC project, on January 21st. The award, instituted by Institute of Directors (IOD) and Golden Peacock Awards Secretariat, was conferred at the '22nd World Congress on Total Quality Summit' at Hotel Lalit Ashok. Police Commissioner B G Jyothiprakash Mirji and ACP (Traffic) M A Saleem accepting the Golden Peacock Award on January 21st. According to a press release by the police department, BTP got the award for these achievements: Installing 179 surveillance cameras to monitor traffic.Installing five enforcement cameras to check traffic violations.Installing 20 Variable Messaging…

It was a few years ago. I was stopped by the traffic policeman in Richmond Town for “jumping red light and reckless driving”. As expected, I was told that I’d have to pay a fine, but at the end of the conversation that ensued, I was let off with no exchange of money, just a warning. Now here again I was, at another traffic signal in Richmond Town, in front of another policeman, but for a different traffic violation. I realize that I run the risk of being classified as a habitual traffic offender, but I must clarify that on…

On 8 November, some apartment associations around Cubbon Park had domestic workers in their apartments profiled. Photographs, fingerprints and detailed information of the workers were recorded by a private agency. The profiling was organised by Cubbon Park police station. Domestic workers Protest Pic: Navya P K The private agency Hamari Suraksha in its website says that it is ‘rooting out domestic terror' through this procedure. This is supposed to prevent crimes committed by domestic workers and help the police track workers when there is a crime. We are not criminals The event sparked off a protest on 10 November by…

Bengaluru was about to have its first Slut Walk - rechristened 'Gejje Hejje' - on Sunday, December 4. The walk was to protest against victim blaming in cases of sexual assault, wherein women are held responsible for inviting assault by "dressing provocatively", travelling at night etc.But not only were they not allowed to hold the walk, a few who had dared to assemble at the venue were arrested by the Bengaluru police. Police had given permission for the walk earlier, but cancelled it on short notice - on Saturday night, bowing to threats from right wing groups. Pic: Navya P…

A week after Bengaluru's police department said that the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) for Karnataka did not exist, the Home Department says that the authority does exist. It turns out that in December last year, the state government quietly setup the body through a government order. The PCA is meant to be a state-level independent authority to inquire into public complaints against police officers. On November 11, civil society group IAC (India Against Corruption), Bengaluru, had submitted a petition to the city Police Commissioner's office, demanding setting up of a PCA. Additional Commissioner of Police Suneel Kumar, who had accepted…

Last week Amulya Somashekhar, her mother Asha and a friend were charged for allegedly assaulting a Banaswadi traffic police inspector. Asha Somasekhar is a volunteer with the Bangalore chapter of India Against Corruption (IAC). Two days later, the case took a new turn with IAC getting involved in the issue. IAC, as readers will know is the organising group behind the Anna Hazare-led movement for the Jan Lokpal bill. Intervening in the matter, IAC representatives met the Additional Comissioner of Police Suneel Kumar (IPS) and gave the police department a petition for the constitution of a Police Complaints Authority. "IAC…

For M Abdulla Saleem, his recent appointment as Additional Commissioner Police (Traffic) is a return to familiar turf. He succeeded Praveen Sood a few months ago. "I am basically a traffic man," proclaims Saleem and it is not without justifications. Pic Courtesy: DCP (Traffic) Office The 1993 batch IPS officer previously served as the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic East Division, Bangalore and in 2010 completed a PhD in Traffic Management from Bangalore University. He has held various posts across the state including Assistant Superintendent of Police, Gulbarga, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) and Inspector General of Police,…

The papers reported that all fireworks and crackers activities should cease between 10 pm and 6 am. KSPCB and the police were supposed to be doing rounds and enforcing the curfew. It's 11 pm in the night, and near Nagarbhavi, some random crackers keep going off at regular intervals. Dealing with continuous fireworks is one thing, but sudden bursts at random points in time is too much to deal with.The dogs, not accustomed to rackets other than their own, start howling everytime one goes off. Aged parents at home, struggling with flu-like symptoms thanks to the weather, exacerbated by the…

Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force (BMTF) was created with the objective of detection, investigation of offences and prosecutions of persons, indulging in unauthorised occupation of lands/property belonging to government and government organisations in Bangalore Metropolitan Area vide GO No. UDD/247/MNU/95 Bangalore dated 19th March 1996. In addition, to identify those employees and officers of the above organisations who collude with the public in committing the offences by creating false and forged documents and which involve loss of revenue and to take action against them as per law in respect to the offences and irregularities committed under the following enactments vide GO…