Bengaluru police chief answers netizens’ queries during one-hour AMA session

BENGALURU: City Police Commissioner B Dayananda on Saturday held an hour-long AMA (Ask Me Anything) session on X (formerly Twitter) where he answered a range of issues raised by netizens from domestic violence and moral policing to road rage.

Vivek Ravindranath (@gemvivek) posted, “@BlrCityPolice @CPBlr offlate there are lot of issues of moral policing by Auto Drivers & Activists in Bengaluru,This has almost become a trend and content creation tool on social media,does the law allow them to do this? Any steps being taken avoid these incidents? #AMAWITHBCP”.

To this, the city police chief replied saying, “No. The law does not allow for such moral policing by anybody. Pl report to police in case you come across any such situtation either in real or virtual world”.

ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಇದೀಗ ಲೈವ್ ಸಂಭಾಷಣೆ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭಿಸೋಣ. #AMAWITHBCP pic.twitter.com/I0zbLtU7br

— CP Bengaluru ಪೊಲೀಸ್ ಆಯುಕ್ತ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು (@CPBlr) August 19, 2023

To Prasanna Kumar’s (@pprasanaa) query, “There are lot of voices being heard by the citizens of Bengaluru that #112 is irresponsive during times of emergency. Is this possible? How do you plan to overcome this?” Dayananda replied saying, “#Namma112 is a robust patrolling system of Bengaluru City Police. It’s a tech enabled yet humane response mechanism working round the clock. You may try it anytime”.

Kartik (@thestratink) posted, “Multiple commercial entities have taken up footpath designated for pedestrians. When we tweet, it is immediately address by local police officers. But after a few hours, the situation is reversed, with the footpath taken back. Any foolproof plan for this?”

The police commissioner replied saying, “Footpath encroachment is a perennial problem which affects smooth movement of pedestrians and also impacts their safety. We have been working with the concerned civic agencies and conducting special drives regularly to remove such encroachments. Will try to find permanent and sustainable solutions for this problem keeping in mind the interest of all stakeholders”.

Navneet Singh (@navneet0693) asked, “Road rage incidents are increasing day by day in beloved city. Anyone gets panicked and traumatized when such incidences happen. What are your suggestions for citizen in such cases? What should we keep in mind when the incident in occurring?”

Dayananda responded by saying, “Incidents of road rage are being dealt with very sternly. Wherever such incidents are reported, police have detected the cases and apprehended the culprits. Besides, rowdy sheets are being opened in concerned police stations on such hooligans so as to keep track of them. There is ZERO TOLERANCE for road rage incidents in Bengaluru City. I appeal to citizens to dial #Namma112 in case they are caught up in such a situation. Be rest assured, we are just a call away”.

X user Srikanth (@AhamSrikanth) posted, “Hello Sir, Many auto-drivers and bikers do not follow lane discipline at all, upon asking them they act rude/rashly/scold/reacting violently! While traveling with kids in vehicle, such incidents are not welcoming!! your thoughts on this? what is ur action?”.

To this, the police commissioner said, “Road user behaviour is a matter of habit and unfortunately our road users have not yet understood and inculcated the importance of lane discipline. We need to educate them and also enforce such violations more vigorously. We are at it”.

Kavitha Reddy | ಕವಿತಾ ರೆಡ್ಡಿ (@KavithaReddyKR) asked, “Sir, In domestic violence cases most cops don’t understand that it’s a violation of once body/will and always try to tell the woman to adjust/compromise with husband, why are domestic violence not taken seriously?”

The police commissioner said, “Domestic violence cases are a priority for us. Your observations are valid. That is why whenever such victims of domestic violence approach the police, we normally make them interact with trained counselors as a first step. We have Makkala Sahaya Vani NGO meant for this purpose. Only when counseling fails, we take up regular criminal case and investigate, which is job of police. We have sufficient women officers and staff to interact and investigate such cases and treat women with empathy and dignity”.

The same user posted another question, “Blr has highest number of PG operating illegally, when will Police Dept come up with guidelines for setting up PGs and ensure safety for occupant and residents in the area”, to which Dayanada replied saying, “Safety of every citizen staying in Bengaluru is our concern and priority. We will examine the issue flagged by you and come out with appropriate measures”.

The AMA session with the police commissioner was held between noon and 1 pm today and netizens raised a host of issues.