Date:28/01/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/01/28/stories/2007012803410400.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

A wake-up call to police, says Sangliana

Special Correspondent

Bangalore: The recent communal riot in Shivajinagar and surrounding areas is a wake-up call to senior police officers of the State, the former Director General of Police H.T. Sangliana has said.

Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, the Bharatiya Janata Party MP said the police had "miserably failed" to anticipate trouble and take precautionary measures though there were clear indications of possible trouble.

`Inefficiency'

The riots following Rajkumar's death had also exposed the inefficiency of the police, he said. Referring to the statement made by the Congress leader C.K. Jaffer Sharief that the rally against Saddam Hussein's execution during which trouble broke out had been organised by Ulemas (religious leaders), Mr. Sangliana appealed to the Ulemas to clarify the matter.

Political leaders, he said, were trying to create a vote bank by creating communal tension. Bangalore was known as a city of peace and prosperity, and a few politicians and an inefficient police force could not be allowed to tarnish its image, he said.

The press conference was also attended by Para-Olympic Committee president Ratan Singh and State president of the BJP Minority Morcha Mir Bahadur Hussain.