The Anti-Communal Police wing was unveiled on June 6, which aims to reduce instances of moral and communal policing within Mangaluru, Karnataka. Since the police there have located moral policing areas and the participants in them, the pilot phase of the wing will be implemented under the commissioner, according to sources inside the Home Department who spoke to South First.
Additionally, the police attempted to track down individuals engaged in moral policing in other locations throughout Karnataka. Personnel from the Anti-Communal Wing would receive specialised training on recognising, handling, and prosecuting moral policing events in Karnataka.
Image Source: The South First
A senior officer told South First, “The wing will be formed by drawing personnel from the existing police force. They will have the additional responsibility of curbing moral policing incidents in their jurisdictions. If instances of moral policing continue unabated, then the Anti-Communal Wing will be answerable.”
Recall that on June 1, Someshwar Beach, on the outskirts of Mangaluru City, reported the most recent occurrence of a suspected moral policing case. A group of men attacked three paramedical college students for going with their female classmates who practised a different religion.
Special Training
The wing would concentrate on communal issues and moral policing incidents and deal with them in a coordinated and methodical manner, according to Mangaluru City Police Commissioner Kuldeep Kumar R Jain. According to him, the wing will be trained and specialised to recognise and address cases of moral policing and community policing.
“We have collected, segregated, measured, and also evaluated the data of people involved in communal and moral policing incidents,” Mr Jain said, adding: “Those breaching the bond would be penalised.”
Kuldeep Kumar Jain
Image Source: Deccan Herald
The commissioner claimed that people responsible for cases of moral policing during the previous five years had been identified. They would be required to submit annual indemnification bonds.
South First was informed by sources in the Home Minister’s office that the members of the Anti-Communal Wing would receive RAF-style (Rapid Action Force) training. They would be required to act immediately, apprehend the offenders, and file criminal charges against them.
The police would support the Anti-Communal Wing and initially focus on discouraging such acts and avoiding their recurrence.
Home Minister’s Meeting With Top Cops
On Tuesday, June 6, Home Minister Dr G. Parameshwara made a statement announcing the creation of the Anti-Communal Wing. Making Karnataka the “Paradise of Peace” was a promise made in the state’s election manifesto by the recently-elected Congress government.
The manifesto also promised prompt action against people and groups inciting community hatred. The home minister of Karnataka recently spoke with senior police personnel about reducing instances of moral and communal policing.
Dr G Parameshwara
Image Source: India Today
Minister Parmeshwara said, “There are many instances of moral policing in the coastal region. If moral policing incidents are not curbed, it will not only bring disrepute to the police department but also the state.” He added, “Stringent action should be initiated in instances of moral policing to curb the menace.”
BJP’s Legal Helpline
Tejasvi Surya, the leader of the BJP‘s National Yuva Morcha and a member of parliament, said the party’s Legal Cell would soon launch a helpline to stop all “legal atrocities” by the Congress government, even as the Siddaramaiah-led government has been moving forward with its plans to deal with moral policing and communal incidents with an iron fist.
He added that the Legal Cell held a conference with all its lawyers and was prepared to deal with legal atrocities, power abuse, fabricated cases and fabricated FIRs. Karnataka, incidentally, had previously seen such helplines.
MP Tejasvi Surya
Image Source: BJYM
The Karnataka unit of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) established a “Love Jihad Helpline” in the volatile Mangaluru during the lead-up to the Assembly elections on May 10th. The VHP asserted that the helpline was set up to stop Hindu women from converting to other religions, along with other Hindutva organisations like the Bajrang Dal.
