No nod for bandh on Saturday, says Bengaluru top cop

BENGALURU: Elaborate police arrangements have been put in place in the city for Saturday’s Karnataka Bandh called by pro-Kannada organisations to protest the state government’s decision to constitute the Maratha Development Board, said police commissioner Kamal Pant.
The top cop said all 18,000 police personnel from Bengaluru (law and order plus traffic) will be deployed and 12 deputy commissioners of police (DCPs) will be on patrol from the morning.
“In addition to local police, 30 platoons of Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) and 22 battalions of City Armed Reserve (CAR) will be stationed in different areas. More deployment will be made at sensitive and hyper-sensitive areas as anti-social elements can take advantage of the situation,” he said.
Further, Pant said no permission has been granted for observing the bandh on Saturday. “If anyone tries to force shops to shut down or disturb the public in any manner, s/he will be dealt with sternly.”
DCPs of nine divisions on Thursday held meetings in their jurisdictions and discussed Saturday’s security arrangements with their assistant commissioners of police (ACPs) and inspectors.