The last four days have seen an increased presence of the men in khaki outside the city’s schools and colleges, and no, this was not to regulate traffic. A five-day drive against the sale of narcotic substances near educational institutions has seen 64 raids on those selling banned tobacco products, 11 cases being registered for the sale of stuff such as ‘pan masala’ and ‘shambu,’ and three arrests for possession of ganja.
The drive was launched after a rise in number of drug peddlers targeting school and college students. It saw the police and the City Narcotics Cell seizing several kilos of ‘maava,’ a potent mixture of ‘pan masala,’ betel, ‘shambu,’ ‘toofan’ etc. and similar mixtures from near schools, R. Duttan, Assistant Commissioner, Narcotics, said.
The tightening of surveillance by the police and the Narcotics Cell on regular ganja and banned tobacco product sale spots in the city had seen the peddlers turning their attention to easy prey, in the form of school and college students, Mr. Duttan said.
“The drive will continue till Friday, but the surveillance will continue till we can ensure that the city is free of such dangers,” City Police Commissioner H. Venkatesh said.
After three months of informally keeping an eye on roadside Romeos, the Fem Patrol is finally on the way to becoming an official force to reckon with for the female population in the city’s schools and colleges.
The patrol, set up to tackle those who harass women and school/college-going girls on roads, the city’s buses and other areas, has silently been on the job from March 8, International Women’s Day. Several cases had been booked. Now, the initiative is all set for a formal launch, with Deputy Commissioner of Police S. Ajeetha Begum holding the reins. The patrol, apart from the women constabulary and officers of the City Police, will also rope in girl students from schools and colleges. It will create a network that will keep the police informed of any instance of harassment of women anywhere in the city, using mobile SMSes, toll-free helpline, and web-based applications including popular messaging service Whatsapp. Awareness classes, training on handling roadside Romeos, and the various legal and official modes of assistance available to take them to task too will be imparted to girl students. Kudumbasree and similar groups of women too will be involved in the initiative as it grows.
(Reporting by Dennis Marcus Mathew)
