BENGALURU: Home Minister Basavaraja Bommai has directed all police officers to ensure that Ganesha festival celebrations and Muharram go about peacefully this year.
The minister, who held a video conference with IGPs, Commissioners and SPs of all districts on Thursday, asked officers to take all necessary steps to avert any untoward incidents. This is the first meeting with Bommai and officers since he took over the post.
During the conference, which went on for about three hours, Bommai reportedly told officers to identify sensitive places and deploy additional forces during the Ganesha processions. “Hold peace committee meetings without fail and take all religious leaders into confidence. There should not be a single incident of violence or communal clashes. Communal and anti-social elements may try to create law and order problems - this should not happen,” the minister said.
It is said that the minister also asked IGPs to visit districts falling under their jurisdiction at least twice in a month. Further, he asked the officers to beef-up security at crowded places like bus stops and railway stations, following alerts from intelligence agencies of possible terror attack in the state.
Meanwhile, Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao told reporters that they have taken all possible steps to ensure peaceful celebrations. “We are holding multi-agency and peace committee meetings for better coordination. We are not imposing restrictions anywhere except for some sensitive places. I am confident that the festivities will go off smoothly,” he said.