VIJAYAWADA: At a time when the series of attacks on temples have increased creating law and order problem in the state, the Krishna district police have formed Grama Rakshak Dalams or Village Defence Squads (VDS) to prevent such incidents in the district.
In the wake of attacks and treasure hunt cases reported in the famous temples, Krishna district SP M Ravindranath Babu initially formed 503 Village Defence Squads on September 19 in all the “problematic” villages identified in the district. The total number of VDS teams has now gone up to 982.
“The VDS teams comprises local heads, who are not affiliated to any political party, activists and NGO members. The team members have so far prevented ‘trouble’ in 10 incidents where the miscreants tried to flee with the hundis and other valuables from the temples,” SP Ravindranath Babu said.
For instance, the VDS team of Kappaladoddi village inGudur mandal was successful in preventing ‘trouble’ in the village after learning that miscreants had looted Lord Anjaneya Swamy temple on September 22.
“The VDS members create a network among the villagers so that any incident that occurs in their respective areas immediately comes to their notice. Further, the VDS teams alert and help the police identify the accused and recover the looted property,” Ravindranath Babu explained. Apart from focusing on temples, the VDS teams also collect details of anti-social elements in their respective villages and have created a database.
“The VDS members act as a bridge between the police and the villagers on various initiatives brought by the department. The duty of the VDS includes collection of details, monitoring activities of old criminals, history -sheeters and other miscreants and creating awareness among public as to how to prevent untoward incidents in the villages.
In another incident, the VDS members busted a non-duty paid liquor (NDPL) smuggling racket and handed over the accused and liquor stock to the police.
“Community policing helps a lot in monitoring the activities of anti-social elements in the villages. We are planning to form such teams in all the villages in the district,” the SP asserted.