'Operation Muskan-2 on to prevent child trafficking'

Drive to continue till January 31, says SP Dr Sharanappa

The district police launched the Operation Muskan-2 on January 1, to trace missing and destitute children and get them back to their parents, Superintendent of Police Dr Sharanappa S D has said.

“The Department intends to use the drive to prevent child trafficking and rescue children from people who engage them in begging and other anti-social activities. The drive will continue all over the district till January 31,” the official said, speaking at a monthly SC/ST grievance meeting on Tuesday.

The superintendent informed that the Dakshina Kannada district anti-human trafficking unit of the Police Department has, meanwhile, won the appreciation as the best such unit in the State. “The CID, which monitors the activities of anti-human trafficking units, has appreciated the activities of the district police in cases related to abduction, programmes to check drug abuse, ragging and other illegal activities,” he said.

Speaking to mediapersons, Dr Sharanappa said that the newly sanctioned police station at Dharmasthala would be inaugurated within a time of 10 days. A sub-inspector and 12 staff members have already been recruited for the police station. The recently concluded elections to the Legislative Council and the untoward incidents in the district, however, led to a delay in the opening of the station, he explained.

Earlier, Eshwari of Belthangady Dalit Hakkugala Horata Samithi said that, when tribals sought permission for laying of roads passing through reserve forest area at Naravi and Navoor, the officials of the Forest Department had refused to issue permission. “Now, however, the officials themselves are engaged in felling of huge trees to facilitate the work of a road inside the forest. The Department officials are laying a 15-km road at Alamba in Naravi, where they had denied permission to the tribals. The officials are following a double-sided policy in the name of development work,” she complained.

Dalit leader Shekhar, who concurred with the Samithi leader, said that, as per the National Park rules, even a match stick could not be taken inside the reserve forest area. “Under such circumstances, how can machinery be used for felling trees inside the forest?” he said.

The Dalit leaders said that the KSRTC buses should have name plates even behind buses. “We have been demanding the same for the last five years, but there is no response,” they complained.

Following the arrest of an Odisha-based man for illegally collecting money from the public by luring them using various schemes like Samriddha Jeevan Multi-Cooperative Society, Shekhar urged the police officials to verify such private financial institutions operating in the taluk headquarters.

Reacting to the demand, the superintendent directed the station officers to verify the existence and functioning of such financial institutions in the taluk headquarters. “The public too should be cautious about such institutions. They should not get carried away by the tactics used against them. Also, the people should furnish complete details that they have of such institutions to the police,” Dr Sharanappa advised.

The superintendent said that similar SC/ST grievance meeting would be held on the first Tuesday – instead of Sunday – of every month. “This change has been made to ensure that the officials from the Social Welfare Department and the KSRTC take part in the meeting,” he explained.