Silvester D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network - Kundapur (RJP)
Kundapur, Jan 13: Following the recent clashes at Kodi, the police late evening on Monday January 12 called a peace meet and discussed various issues. The police announced that steps will be taken to install CCTVs at sensitive spots in the taluk.
During the meet, a woman alleged bias in the way the police handled the situation, especially regarding arrests and said, "I feel police have not been fair in this case. There was hesitation on the part of the police in arresting the accused who belonged to a certain community. It is as if there are two separate laws for them and us. Women should be free to move without any fear even at midnight. That was Gandhi's dream in Ramarajya. But in this place, even young men cannot go out after 8 pm. Police have to act on this,"
A local man said, "We work in the seas. Our families on the land should be protected. The people who were not present in the village during the clashes have also been named in the investigations. Police should stop using abusive language. The superiors in the police department should take note of this."
Another person complained that the peace meet held four months back was of no use. Despite the peace meet then, innocents have been arrested again this time. "What is the use of holding peace meets? Is there no value for law?" he said. Majority of the people in the meeting voiced the same opinion in front of the circle inspector.
P M Divakar, Kundapur circle inspector after listening to the opinions of people said, "You have been living here for centuries. It is only in this part of the taluk that more problems of this nature are reported. We feel miscreants from outside are involved in the conflicts. We will take appropriate action in this regard. We will make sure that same will not take place in the future.
"Plans are afoot to install CCTV cameras in Kodi, Halavalli and Koteshwar as additional security measure. SP has promised to open a police check post at Kodi," he said.
Manju Billava, Nagaraja Billava, Janaki Billava and Markodu Sudhir Kumar Shetty were present during the peace meet among others.