Karnataka has escaped 'Naxal hit' tag, says Acharya

Karnataka no longer has the tag of being a Naxal-hit state. The Centre, which had listed Karnataka as being a Naxal-infected state two years ago, has removed Karnataka from the list.

Home minister V S Acharya tokld reporters here, the state police were successful in curbing Naxal activities for the last two years.

He claimed that steps to strengthen the police set up in the state had yielded results and the law and order situation in the state is satisfactory, Acharya said. However, he refused to comment on the remarks of Home Minister P Chidambaram on ‘Saffron Terrorism’.

Elaborating the measures implemented towards modernising the department, he said the proposal for setting up 30 new police stations in the state is under active consideration. “Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa had made budgetary allocations for setting up 25 new police stations of which 16 are already functional,” he said.

Stating that ultra modern arms and ammunition are being given to the policemen Acharya said wireless network connectivity and traffic control management system are being improved. Regarding setting up of new traffic police station in Hubli-Dharwad the home minister said the government is looking for suitable site.

The proposal of setting up a police station at High Court Circuit Bench (HCCB) in Dharwad is pending before the government. New station would be sanctioned, once the proposal is thoroughly verified, Acharya said.

Acharya said, recruitment drive to increase the strength of the department has been completed.

Nearly, 400 sub-inspectors and 4,012 police constables were appointed and are undergoing training. Once the training is completed, Mangalore, Hubli-Dharwad and Mysore will get 300 police constables each.

Acharya stated that for the first time in the history of the state, the government had allotted funds to the police department to nab culprits staying in other states. The Rs 20 crore fund would be utilised for meeting the expenses incurred during the investigation, he informed.