The brutal attack on a bank manager inside an ATM kiosk in November could have been prevented if the police were on their toes, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said.
He was speaking at the inauguration of a Traffic Management Centre here on Monday.
The centre, located on Infantry Road, will house the new offices of the traffic police. The centre will also have a video monitoring facility, which will receive inputs from 179 cameras, 343 junction lights and variable message systems to keep tabs on traffic.
Siddaramaiah noted that while the police were doing a very good job of protecting the city and preventing crime, there is a lot of scope for improvement.
The Chief Minister noted that many crimes were reported against women, especially incidents of violence against women living alone. “It is important to ensure that these numbers are reduced. It is our job to protect women,” he said. He also emphasised the need to use science and technology to both ensure the protection of citizens and to nab criminals.
Siddaramaiah blamed traffic jams in Bangalore on the unplanned growth of the city. “If it were planned with good roads and proper traffic management, not only would we have seen lesser traffic jams but also lesser offences and accidents,” he observed. The Chief Minister said citizens also had a responsibility to follow rules that were meant to protect them and manage traffic.
“The police should try to win the hearts of the people. More often than not, the police talk to citizens in the same tone as they would with criminals. A conscious effort needs to be made by the police to be polite,” he said.