Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (SS)

Mangaluru, Jul 19: A youth dialled up emergency response service 112 and called up the police after he lost his footwear that he had kept outside an auditorium on Sunday, July 17.

The youth who had come to an auditorium near the Sharavu Temple had parked his footwear outside the hall and when he returned he found it missing. Immediately, he called up 112 service after which the police arrived. On examining the CCTV footage it was found that another youth had worn the footwear and walked away.

The police have registered a complaint and are now on the lookout for the youth who stole the footwear, it is learnt.

Many citizens questioned the rationale and necessity of calling the police for a silly reason such as this because when there are more serious crimes to tackle the police may not respond favourably or react accordingly while criticising the youth over his behaviour while many others felt it was necessary for the emergency response service to respond to even such calls.

It was not known whether the youth had mischievous intent over calling 112 or because the footwear that he had worn was an expensive one.

Mangaluru police have received a number of calls on 112 following a campaign launched by the police in the recent past over using the service. It has become imperative for the police to attend to all such calls that it receives.

"The police have responded positively and taken the complaint of footwear theft after we were alerted on 112. The CCTV footage is being examined. Though a few calls may seem silly, the intent behind such acts might be serious as it is likely to disturb the social peace and so it becomes necessary for the police to visit the spot and examine the case," said Mangaluru city police commissioner Kuldeep Kumar R Jain.