City Shadows Doing a Good Job; Crimes Down

It was on March 24 that City Shadows was constituted by City Police Commissioner P A Valsan, by merging City Spiders with it, in a bid to tackle ganja peddling, goonda menace, eve-teasing and thefts
City Shadows Doing a Good Job; Crimes Down

KOZHIKODE:Last month, a 45-year-old was picked up from the moffusil bus stand with 1.2 kg of ganja by City Shadows, the special wing of the city police formed to curb the sale of ganja, pan masala and theft incidents. The wing that was launched with around 70 police personnel after amalgamating City Spiders, the special commando force set up to tackle goonda menace, is scripting a story of success, as the number of crimes is showing a downward trend in the city.

It was on March 24 that City Shadows, the new wing was constituted by City Police Commissioner P A Valsan, who took charge recently, in a bid to effectively tackle ganja peddling, goonda menace, eve-teasing and thefts. After a month of its formation, the wing has proved its efficiency, say top police officials.

The figures available with the city police say that the cops in mufti have helped the city police to register 105 cases till April 24. Of these, 20 are narcotic cases, while 18 are  Abkari cases. The other crimes include theft, pickpocketing and eve-teasing.

City Police Commissioner P A Valsan says that the shadow police are doing their duty effectively. “With their deployment, crime reporting in the city has come down”, he adds. Assistant Commissioner (Control Room) K K Moidheen Kutty is co-coordinating the activities of the wing.

City Spiders, the armed squad constituted by the then City Police Commissioner A V George, comprised six civil police officers trained in martial arts and fighting tactics. They were also given special uniforms in black colour, which almost resembled the state’s commando force. Besides, the department had allotted a special vehicle for the squad, which included policemen who had proved their martial arts skills in national and international competitions.

City Spiders, claimed to be the first of its kind in the state, was formed in the wake of a goonda attack in the city in which a man was severely beaten up and hospitalised. The attack at Mavoor Road junction had created panic among the public as the goons had carried lethal weapons and blocked traffic. Though the squad would be officially on duty from 10 am to 10 pm, its service was available for the public and other police departments at any time in case of emergency situations. They were also deployed as escort when VIPs visited the city.

The special squad was dissolved as their duty became only escorting VIPs and no goonda menace was reported after its establishment. Officials say, the services of City Shadows are also available 24 hours and the public can register their complaints by dialling 100 - the official helpline number of the police.

According to the officials, the selected police personnel were imparted special training before the launch of City Shadows.

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