Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (NR)

Mangalore, Aug 23: At a media briefing held here recently, the home minister M P Prakash, informed that an additional battalion of Anti Naxal Force (ANF) with 1,117 new cops will be formed very shortly. A proposal in this regard had been sent to the Finance Ministry, which in turn has agreed in principle to sanction funds for the new battalion he informed.
 
"At present, the ANF has 543 cops which is insufficient,’’ he added.
 
Prakash further stated that the ministry has acquired 176 acres in Koppal district to form an Indian Reserve Battalion with 1,110 staff to prevent untoward incidents in North Karnataka and 50 per cent of the funds would be sanctioned by the Central government, he added.
 
According to Prakash the department would recruit 4,025 additional staff to make the state police the best in India and the 4,500 personnel recruited last year would be posted to various stations immediately after their training, he said. 

Prakash also spoke of a few proposals sent to the finance ministry for approval one of which was for the opening of a new police commissionerate for Mangalore and the other for opening of a residential school for children of police personnel either in Mangalore or in Udupi.
 
Moreover based on recommendations of police officers, the department is planning to increase the amount of insurance paid to the police who die during police operations from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, he informed.
 
Giving another glad tiding, Prakash said that the local government authorities had sanctioned land for the Malnadu Karnataka State Reserve Police Battalion, which would be formed in Hassan. The Armed Police Training Centre in Hadagali and Kudremukh would also be started soon, he declared.