BENGALURU: People who attack on-duty policemen in the city will be fired upon, city police commissioner T Suneel Kumar warned on Saturday. The move comes after a spate of attacks targetting police personnel across the city in the past few weeks.
Kumar had on Friday issued strict instructions to his juniors to step up policing to ensure such attacks stopped immediately and had warned of action against senior officials if any more instances were reported.
He followed this up on Saturday with instructions to his staff to open fire at those who tried to attack on-duty police personnel.
Speaking to reporters, Kumar said, "Police personnel on duty need to open fire to save themselves if anti-social elements target them. There is no other option. The incidents reported so far have been taken seriously, however, the accused involved are not rowdy sheeters or habitual offenders. We have already arrested some of the accused attackers and they are in judicial custody."
Discussing the case in which a gang snatched a service rifle from the police in Kodigehalli, Kumar said that a special team had been formed to nab the gang. In order to ensure the safety of his staff, he has instructed policemen deputed on night rounds to carry weapons to protect themselves if they happened to come across any dangerous threats, he said.