Crime-free Deepavali Shopping
City Police Commissioner K.C. Mahali with the private security guards who have been roped in to ensure crime-free shopping during festival time. In an effort to ensure crime-free shopping experience during the Deepavali season, the City Police have hit upon the idea of availing the help of traders on Cross Cut Road in roping in the services of 24 private security guards. The City Police Commissioner, K.C. Mahali, and Deputy Commissioners of Police S. Rajendran (Law and Order), and K. Thondiraj (Crime and Traffic) have drawn up an elaborate bandobust scheme for the shopping areas in the city. While the Law and Order officers and police constables would be on duty for regulating the crowd in a bid to ensure visible policing, policemen in civil dress from the crime wing would be on the job of keeping track of the movement of suspicious persons, especially habitual offenders, ex-convicts and dossier criminals.
The bandobust in Gandhipuram and Cross Cut Road areas would be under the direct supervision of Assistant Commissioner of Police (Law and Order – Central), Chandrasenan. Already, the Cross Cut road has been equipped with surveillance cameras connected to closed circuit TVs for maintaining vigil. Men in civil dress would be moving around with photographs of habitual offenders. Enhanced vigil would be maintained at Ram Nagar, Cross Cut Road, 100 feet road and Gandhipuram.
To supplement the efforts of the police to prevent occurrence of crimes such as pocket-picking, chain-snatching, robbery, bag-lifting and two-wheeler lifting, the City Police have decided to depute at least 200 police personnel during the peak Deepavali shopping time besides the 24 private security guards roped in by the traders. The police are also planning to emulate the same method in other shopping hubs as well.
