New city police chief assures to keep Bengaluru safe and secure

Hameed Ashraf | NT

Bengaluru: The new Commissioner of Police Pratap Reddy said that he is aware of the major challenges before him, as he takes charge as a police chief.

During a press conference, Pratap Reddy assured that strengthening security and safety in Bengaluru will remain the top priority of the city police department. Kamal Pant congratulated Reddy on his promotion.

The Karnataka government on Monday appointed the senior IPS officer C.H. Pratap Reddy as the new Bengaluru Police Commissioner with ‘immediate effect.’ Kamal Pant will now take charge as Director General of Police (DGP) Recruitment.

An emotional farewell was given to the outgoing commissioner Kamal Pant by the police officials at the CP office on Tuesday. “Kamal Pant is one of my close friends and I’m pleased to have taken over the charge from him. All the good work that he started will continue in the interest of the people,” said the new police commissioner.

Expressing gratitude towards the Karnataka government, Kamal Pant said that he was able to maintain law and order in the city due to the help from the authorities and the cooperation from the public.

Kamal Pant told News Trail, “The recruitment department is new to me, but I’m confident of serving well in the department.”

“We have cracked down upon illegal activities across the city and the rowdysheeters have been under control. We also introduced the Cybercrime Incident Report (CIR) report system to track online frauds. There were no irregularities either in the Bitcoin-drugs scam or the Chandru murder case. I’m going out happy and content,” he added.

New set of rules
Pratap Reddy assured that he will take stringent actions to curb goonda activities and illegal gambling across the city. “The fundamental function of police forces is to uphold and enforce laws, investigate crimes, and safeguard the safety of citizens,” he said.

He said that he has been instructed to focus on major crime cases in the city. “We will ensure that an accused should not be able to escape the hands of law after committing crime,” he said. He also promised to focus on women’s safety.

“We will install CCTV cameras near bus stations and crowded places with improved surveillance,” he added.

Traffic congestion is also one of the major concerns in the city. Reddy said that he will soon hold a discussion with the traffic department to address the traffic issues.

As the people in Karnataka are entrapped in communal issues such as anti-conversion Bill, controversies over hijab, azaan, the police across the state is said to be working under a lot of pressure.

Regarding the recent acid attack case in the city, Reddy said that case is being investigated and a chargesheet would be filed soon.