BENGALURU: The city police have decided to form community policing groups in view of increasing incidents of attacks on people from the northeast part of the country.
The initiative was taken up after Michael Lamjathang Haokip, a Manipuri student, alleged that he was thrashed by locals because he did not know Kannada.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) V S D’Souza said weekly meetings are being held with members of the community.
Four-member teams, comprising two men and two women, will be formed in different areas of the city.
Local police stations will have their contact details and they will be contacted from time to time for a report of any untoward incidents against the community.
“We have nominated 16 members of the community, who are chalking out a plan. We are concentrating on areas with a high population of people from the Northeast,” D’Souza said.
Dr Rini Ratle, a committee member, said they are in the process of finalising the list of people who can be the contact points for the police.
Rini, who is from Mizoram and has been staying in the city since 20 years, said, “These members can be students or professionals and even homemakers.”
The list, which will be finalised in the coming week, will have members from prominent areas like Koramangala, Hennur, Banaswadi, Ramamurthy Nagar and Vivek Nagar, Rini added.
“In case of a crisis, these people will be immediately contacted by the police station concerned to help them communicate and also maintain peace in the area. They will also take part in awareness campaigns,” she said.
D’Souza added, “There are roughly three-and-a-half-lakh people from the northeast in the city. This programme will also be a way for us to know what kind of problems they face and how we can help them. Their safety is of importance and hence this step is necessary.”