The blasts in Hyderabad that claimed 16 lives have come as a wake-up call for Karnataka. The State Security Commission — supposed to be the highest decision making body on security matters — has not met even once in the last six months while the police force faces a severe staff crunch.
The Commission headed by the Chief Minister was constituted in August 2012. The Home Minister, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary (Home) are members of the Commission, while the DG&IGP is its member-secretary.
“So far, the Commission has not met. It will meet soon,” DG&IGP Lalrokhuma Pachuau told Express on Friday. “There is no specific reason for the commission not holding its meeting.”
DyCM and Home Minister R Ashok said, “Karnataka State Police Intelligence chief is in regular contact with his counterpart in AP. We have kept our 160-strong commando force on high alert.”
Former DG and Bangalore City Police Commissioner L Revanasiddaiah said, “Security related issues are not getting adequate priority. We need both quantitative and qualitative improvements to make the force more efficient. Political interference is one of the major problems. The state police top brass is also a divided house.
Prof Bidanda Chengappa, Christ University, who specialises in security-related issues, sees an urgent need for major reforms in the police force. “Time, target and technique are important in getting actionable intelligence inputs to avert Hyderabad-like incidents,” he said.