When Hoysalas hit the City roads 10 years ago, everyone was in awe of the very idea of the police patrol vans. A decade later, an occasional Hoysala does dart across the City. But for Bangaloreans, they just don’t appear to count when they are faced with contingency situations.

Lack of trained manpower, fuel shortage, constant traffic blocks and vehicle shortages itself have been sighted as the prime reasons for the Hoysala dream turning sour.

As the first step to resuscitate the citizens’ confidence in the patrol van system, Bangalore City Police have now acquired 79 new Hoysalas which will be deployed at the 96 police stations across the City over the next year. “As of now we have 54 Hoysalas on the road, as five to six of the 60 Hoysalas with the City police are always under repair. The department lacks adequate staff to man the Hoysalas. With two shifts operating and each of them requiring five personnel, we need at least 10 policemen per Hoysala,” explains Additional Commissioner of Police (admin) Raghavendra Auradker.

On a hiring spree

The issue of staff shortage was looked into only recently, “The police department has just hired 790 extra police personnel. Every new Hoysala will have one ASI, one head constable, two constables and one driver. The new fixtures include search lights, revolving lights, water bottles, fire extinguishers, stretchers and foldable seats,” says Auradker. He feels that once these new Hoysalas hit the roads the patrolling will be smoother.

The City’s choking traffic has been sighted as one of the major reasons for their delayed responses during emergencies. “We cannot altogether rule out their efficiency. If there is an emergency situation in a particular area and the Hoysala of that station is out on call then we divert the Hoysala from the nearest police station. But traffic blocks and the slow moving traffic has made it impossible for Hoysalas to attend to emergencies within minutes,” reasons Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Bipin Gopalakrishna.

M A Saleem, DCP Traffic (East), disagrees that traffic blocks impede Hoysala movement. “If there is an emergency situation, the traffic is always cleared for Hoysalas. The traffic personnel always communicate with the Hoysalas via wireless. So, I don’t see blocks arising at all,” he says.

A bit of history

The Hoysalas were introduced ten years ago during the tenure of L Revannasiddaiah as Police Commissioner of Bangalore City. He reasons that when they were introduced they were intended to be the most visible and easily accessible police force in the garb. But today, Revannasiddaiah concedes, the concept of Hoysalas is withering away.

“The vision and purpose of the Hoysalas has not been carried forward. I think the scarcity of vehicles is also a major issue affecting the efficiency of Hoysalas. Weekly or monthly assessment of the system will help better the services a great deal,” he says. He also feels punishing Hoysala personnel who are corrupt and lax and rewarding the honest among them will improve services.

Corruption galore

Senior police officers have admitted that Hoysalas are not exempt from fence-eating-the-crop practices. There have been cases where Hoysala staff themselves have turned extortionists and exploited hawkers and commercial establishments.

“I don’t dispute the fact that cases of corruption have been reported. We have taken action against corrupt officers and are still working on checks and balances to sort out the corruption problem,” says Auradker.

He says that the Global Positioning System (GPS) system fixed in every Hoysala enables the police control room to monitor the position and movements of Hoysala vehicles on a digitised map and direct the police parties to the crime scene or to attend to any other situation quickly. “The fear of being tracked or being watched will probably deter staff from corruption. This system also helps us divert Hoysalas in case of an emergency situation,” explains Auradker.

Sub-Inspector of Cubbon Park police station B M Shantinath feels that if the jurisdiction of each Hoysala is shrunk, then their response will be swifter and more efficient. “The traffic and the distance keeps most Hoysalas from rushing to the spot,” says B P Shantinath. He feels the Hoysalas have done well to curb the rising crime graph in the City.

FACT FILE

Bouquets

*Hoysala-35 was instrumental in nabbing the Mumbai underworld elements in Kadugondanahalli in July in 1997.

*In January in 1998, the staff of Hoysala-5 caught two people near Pallavi cinema, near Town Hall and seized fake currency notes worth Rs 10 lakhs.

*In March 2006 a Hoysala saved the life of a 23-year-old woman who attempted suicide by hanging herself at her house in Kamakshipalya police station limits.

Brickbats

*In 2001, Hoysala police staff assaulted an accused, in a theft case, in the Hoysala van. He later died in the van.

*In 2001, Hoysala police went to a woman’s house in Mahalakshmi Layout who owed money to someone. They posed as recovery agents and dragged her to the police station. Three officers were suspended in this regard.

*In 1999, a few of the Hoysala staff were suspended for parking their vehicle before an eatery and demanding food.