Abhijith N Kolpe

Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Aug 2: Whenever a police commissioner takes charge of Mangaluru, people of the city expect him to be people-friendly, develop good rapport with the public and address their problems in a right way. Outgoing Police commissioner Sandeep Patil stands right up there.

He was always at the forefront in addressing the problems of the public and had built a good rapport with the people during his tenure as police commissioner of the city for the past five months.

Sandeep Patil took charge as police commissioner of the city on February 22. Since then Sandeep Patil ensured of building a good rapport with the public. Sandeep Patil brought traffic, law and order under control during his tenure.

People of Mangaluru appreciated the Commissioner for his concern towards the public. He also ensured that he was available to the public at any time.

Effective use of social media

Sandeep Patil was one such police commissioner who used social media platform effectively and also urged the public to make use of the same for raising their grievances so that he can address them personally. There was an instance where a resident of the city had complained through twitter after a car banged him and the inspector at the station refused to register the complaint, the Police commissioner acted immediately and took quick action against the same.

Outgoing Police commissioner Sandeep Patil has made good use of the LED display boards at important junctions of the city to appeal to the public to make use of social media and file complaints and provide information to redress their grievances.

Traffic under control

Outgoing Police commissioner Sandeep Patil was taking all kind of preventive measures in order to bring some discipline on the road. During his tenure, the cases booking against drunken driving inconvenience to the pedestrians, stopping vehicle on Zebra cross, shrill horns, tint glass and towing of the vehicle were on the rise. He made sure that the traffic problems are addressed immediately and was responding to the public’s complaint without any delay.

Shootouts

During his tenure two incidents of shootouts took place in the city, wherein the police succeeded in arresting two rowdy sheeters namely Bhavith Raj and Gowrish from Adyar and Jeppinamogaru respectively.

Deep concern over drug menace

Outgoing Police commissioner Sandeep Patil had major concern over drug menace in the city, where the young students are becoming the victim of drugs. Sandeep Patil urged the support of parents and educational institutions to tackle drug menace so that they can alert the police. He requested the parents and institutions to bring to the notice of the police any student in possession of such white powders. Sandeep Patil said that with the cooperation of all stakeholders, the drug menace can be controlled. He was worried about the youngsters in the age group of 18 to 24, especially students, who become the victim of drug abuse.

Appreciation to fellow officers

Whenever the fellow officers like constables or other police officers achieved something unique in their respective field or showed humanitarian nature during their duty, Police commissioner Sandeep Patil would appreciate and honour those officers. This was really a good gesture from the commissioner. Sandeep Patil also would build confidence among the officers to work better. He also made sure that their grievances with regards to leave, transfer and any other issue were addressed. Entire Police department had good opinion on his working style.

Phone-in complaints personally handled by Sandeep Patil

Whenever the complainant used to call during the police phone-in programme, Police commissioner Sandeep Patil handled the case personally.

It may be recalled that during a phone-in programme, a senior citizen from Bejai in the city, had complained about salesmen roaming near his house which caused a sense of fear in him. Police commissioner immediately called the local police station and asked them to visit his house and give updates immediately. He made sure that the senior citizen is safe and deployed a police beat team near to his house.

Warning for cattle trafficking and drug offenders

As there was a rise in the incidents of cattle thefts in the district, Sandeep Patil took the issue seriously and formed special squads to detect cases and nab the offenders.

For the first time in the history of Mangaluru, the police commissioner rounded up 102 cattle theft offenders, with previous cases registered against their names, at a parade. Besides getting to know about their present status and checking their current activity, he strictly warned them against indulging in such activity again.

Then police commissioner also warned 94 old and accused drug peddlers in the city and told the group that the police department is ready to wipe out the drug peddling business from the city completely. He warned them to stay clear of any activity that will spoil the health of the society.

With regards to CCD founder V G Siddartha’s death, the outgoing city police commissioner, Sandeep Patil had instructed to conclude the investigation of the case in just three days. However, this could not be completed as he is replaced now by Dr Subramanyeswara Rao. Sandeep Patil is transferred as DIG and joint commissioner of police, Crimes, Bengaluru city.

Though Sandeep Patil had a short stint of five months as the commissioner of police of Mangaluru, he will be remembered for a long time for his bold and pro-public approach.