HUBBALLI: The
new beat system
introduced by the
Hubballi-Dharwad police commissionerate
is helping
curb crime
in the
twin cities
.
Police had formed about 1,020 beats involving citizens, police officers and constables. There are more than 10 beats in each police station. The beats were formed a month ago to keep an eye on movement of criminals and anti-social elements.
Within a month, police have unearthed a huge quantity of ganja and arrested a woman involved in selling it to students and others in Dharwad on Saturday night.
Students smoking ganja has been increasing by the day in the twin cities and it has been a big challenge for police to prevent youths falling prey to it. As the number increased, the demand for ganja also went up.
Sources said many college students and youths in many areas were purchasing ganja sachets which costs Rs 50 to Rs 100 each. Isolated places like school grounds, dilapidated buildings on the outskirts and graveyards are some places where youths addicted to ganja hide to smoke ganja. The sale of ganja is being carried out clandestinely in some areas.
With the help of the new beat system, police conducted a raid on the house of woman in Jannatnagar, Dharwad and seized 2kg of ganja.
Pandurang Rane,
Hubballi-Dharwad
police commissioner, said, "We're getting good response to the beat system. Each beat is maintained by a constable of the respective police station. The constable holds meeting with citizens who are members of the beat and gets information about crime in their areas. Acting on a tip-off, we arrested Surayya Itulla Irani who was involved in selling ganja. She had a huge quantity of ganja in her home, and she would pack it in small sachets and sell them."
He added, "There are some groups involved in selling ganja and we'll soon bring them to book. We have met principals of 100 colleges in Hubballi and requested them to tip off police if their students are addicted to ganja. We're also keeping a tab on others involved in the sale of ganja and track them down."
A huge board will be displayed in areas where beats have been formed to help people contact the police to give information about anti-social elements in their areas.