Pics: Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (HB)

Udupi, Apr 28: The Parade ground here witnessed 'lathi charge' and 'firing' by police on Tuesday April 28 as a mob assembled at the ground holding placards in 'protest'.

But none of it was real. It was all a part of scientific demonstration on 'mob operation', a mock drill conducted by the Udupi district police to test the preparedness and hone the skills of its staff in controlling mobs and large crowds.

Addressing media persons, superintendent of police (SP) Annamalai said, "It is a demo on crowd control. The police team is shown how to take measures to control mobs step by step."

Initially, some individuals in a mock protest came forward with reasonable demands, and then went on to make unreasonable demands. As the 'protest' intensified, the mob control squad was instructed to lathi charge, use tear gas, grenades, smoke shells and dye marker grenades, Annamalai said.

A trained squad also demonstrated how the police can fire to disperse an unruly mob if the situation went out of control. "We are doing this for the benefit of the public, and it is a measure taken to understand the public," Annamalai said.

The district canine squad also demonstrated its skills and preparedness.

"A new police vehicle named 'Garuda' has been introduced to observe public behaviour in crowds. The vehicle has been set up with cameras directly linked to Udupi police control room," Annamalai said.

He said he felt proud of Uday, one of the police officers under him who participated in the national security guard training camp held at Haryana.

Similar mock drills will also be conducted next in Kundapur and other sub-divisions, the SP informed.

Describing the devices used to control mobs, the SP said that stun granede makes a loud sound while tear gas shells are used to stimulate tears in the eyes. The dye marker grenade sprays irritant gas as well as colour over people. The colour takes 10 days to fade, which helps police to recognize a person who was present at the spot easily, he said.

SI Shrikanth, Santhosh Kumar and others were present during the demo.