An innovativeexercise by the Bangalore City police involving persons of African origin and the local people has drastically reduced friction between the two communities, instances of which had been on the rise in recent times.
“It is a complex issue pertaining to the rights of the foreign national. Though we have to honour their privileges, we should also ensure they respect local laws,” said Additional Commissioner of Police ( Law and Order) Kamal Pant.
“At the station-level, we are trying to understand the occasional friction between the Africans and the locals to help us smoothen corners. Apart from this, we have also directed senior police officers to regularly interact with the African association, which will help to not only instil a sense of confidence among them but also make it easy to cooperate during any eventuality,” said Mr. Pant.
“This interaction has helped a great deal as incidents of friction involving the Africans and locals have come down drastically this year,” he said.
However, a senior police officer conceded there were problems on other fronts. He gave the example of a recent raid on an online prostitution racket at Bagaluru, in Bangalore’s north-eastern part, run by a person of African origin.
The officer told The Hindu that an estimated 8,000 Africans live in Bangalore and some of them may be overstaying.
The officer conceded they were finding it difficult to trace most of those who were overstaying. He said the police suspected that some of them may be involved in activities against the law.
During the current calendar year, the Hennur police deported 13 persons of African origin for overstaying. A police officer in Banaswadi said in certain cases some destroyed their passports and visas to hide their nationalities and prevent officials from deporting them.
