BENGALURU: In the last one week, several commuters may have seen policemen checking vehicles across the city by placing barricades on roads.
The reason? City Police Commissioner Alok Kumar wants to put an end to mobile and chain snatching in Bengaluru, and has instructed all officials to ensure muggers are nabbed.
He has also instructed for barricades to be placed regularly to ensure criminals can’t escape.
While nakabandi (checkpoints) is not a new initiative in policing, it usually enforced after 10.30 pm. But now, cops have set up checkpoints as early as 8.30 pm.
According to sources, there has been a rise in mobile snatching and robberies in the city, and Kumar has asked his men to buck up and prevent such incidents.
“Police inspectors of various jurisdictions should personally call and inform me about any such cases,” sources quoted Kumar.
As a result, policemen are stopping vehicles and checking documents, including driving license and registration certificate.
If a person does not have these documents, police will seize their vehicles, teeing to produce the documents before collecting the vehicle.
A police inspector said, “Motorists must carry documents or at least have a photo of the documents to avoid trouble. We will act tough on motorists, regardless of who they are.”
However, many motorists feel that this will only result in traffic jams and commotion. Murthy, a two-wheeler rider, said, “I was stopped at Anil Kumble Circle at around 9 pm and showed all my documents to police. After a few minutes, I was stopped again on Vittal Mallya Road, and had to show my documents again. I was delayed by at least 20 minutes. The move is good, but there should be some system in place to ensure motorists are not stopped at multiple points.”
Another motorist, requesting anonymity, said, “There was a traffic jam near Mallya Hospital due to barricading.
Police had stopped vehicles for checking, and there was an ambulance passing by then. The driver didn’t have space to move, so he had to wait along with the other vehicles. Checking should be avoided at such places to ensure no one is affected.”
Kumar told TNIE, “We are changing the timing and places of checking regularly because we don’t want to be predictable.” Meanwhile, additional commissioner of police (West) Umesh Kumar, said, “Naka bandi is routine in policing, but we have increased it now as a preventive measures to deter crimes. People have to cooperate with us – our main concern is their safety.”