Crimes, accidents dip during month-long lockdown: DK SP

There has been a drop in crime rate across the district as outsiders are not able to breach through the check posts and enter the district, said Dakshina Kannada Superintendent of Police (SP) B M Laxmi Prasad.

The entire police force, home guards among others are manning the 136 check posts including 12 interstate check posts in three shifts, the SP informed at the sidelines during the PV-DH phone-in-programme organised at Prajavani office in Yenepoya chambers on Friday.

Many among the accused involved in burglaries and other heinous crimes come from Arsikeri, Hassan and Chikkamagaluru district, said the SP.

The accident cases have also dipped during the lockdown period. On average, there would be one fatal and two to three non-fatal accidents per day.

“During the lockdown, there were no fatal or non-fatal accidents,” he informed and added that a dip in crime rate had helped them to focus on implementing the lockdown.

When the lockdown is partially relaxed and there is the movement of vehicles, it will be difficult to focus both on policing and social distancing, he added.

The police’s initiative to ensure the well being of elderly people also ensured that 37,579 senior citizens living alone in houses were kept out of harm’s way. The police are regularly in contact with elderly people.

“A regular such contact helped us in getting an elderly person admitted to a private hospital,” said Laxmi Prasad.

Many of the calls were related to obtaining passes for those stranded in other districts and states. The SP advised people to seek passes by dialling 1077 or contacting the Puttur Inspector or the Assistant Commissioner.

'Do not forward fake messages'

Police had registered seven cases against those spreading fake messages on social media. A case was also registered against those who had revealed the identity of a patient who had died of Covid-19, said DK Superintendent of Police B M Laxmi Prasad.

On Thursday, activist G Hanumanth Kamath filed a complaint in Bharke police station against one B R Bhaskar Prasad for humiliating GSB community by wrongly attributing the community of the woman who died from Covid-19 as GSB community. SP Laxmi Prasad appealed public not to even forward fake messages.