Udupi: The attack on Deputy Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner of Udupi by the illegal sand miners has put the police department in alert mode.
Additional Director General of Police Alok Mohan has said that the police department will crack its whip on the illegal sand mafia in the district.
Addressing the news conference on Monday, the ADGP said that it is a serious incident where DC Priyanka Mary Francis, AC Shilpa Nag and Village Accountant Kantharaju were assaulted in Kandlur of Kundapur by the illegal sand miners when the trio raided the sand mining spots.
“The DC is the head of the task force to regulate sand mining. As District Magistrate, the DC also has the responsibility to curb illegal sand mining in the district. While conducting a raid there is no necessity to inform anyone, she has the right to do so and in this case, the DC had decided to go to the spot herself without taking help from police, which is not wrong. The DC was supposed to inform task force committee members like SP, Tahsidar, RTO, CEO of ZP and others, but she has acted as per her discretion ” he said.
To query on political influence or pressure on police in the case, the ADGP said that being government officials they are here to do their work irrespective of caste, religion, community and political pressure.
He informed that the police had arrested seven persons in connection to the case and that they are working on more leads. The police will book those involved in gambling, illegal sand extraction under Goonda Act.
SP K T Balakrishna took action immediately after the information and dispatched a team of policemen to the area.
The ADGP said that in order to improve policing system, it had been decided to improve the beat system by making the head constables and police constables in charge of designated areas in the district.
Drop boxes would be kept in schools and colleges so that students could lodge their complaints without writing their names. Police officers had been instructed to go to schools and colleges and interact with students and spread awareness about drugs.
Deputy Commissioner Priyanka Mary Francis said that more stringent measures will be taken to crack down illegal sand mining in the district. “We have learnt a lesson. In future we will go with all precautionary measures. The meeting of the task force committee has been called to discuss the issue and we will take strong action. We feared that the information about the raid would be leaked through the members task force, but now we feel we should have been better prepared to face the situation,” she said.
SP Balakrishna informed that seven arrested so far are from UP and Bihar states, one injured person too is an accused. The police are on look out for several more accused.
Vishnuvardhan ASP, Kumaraswamy DySP and other officials were present during the press meet.
