Police intensify security ahead of Ambedkar Jayanti

KOLHAPUR: In view of Ambedkar Jayanti that will be celebrated on April 14,

Kolhapur

police have beefed up security in the city as well as in the district to ensure that the festival is conducted peacefully without any disturbance in law and order.

Police officials held meetings with the organisers of the processions and discussed the security arrangements and the route plans. A rough estimate of the number of people attending each gathering has also been prepared.

Police conducted a route march on Wednesday, passing through the jurisdictions of all police stations, to ensure law and order prevails in the city.

District collector

Avinash Subhedar

organised a meeting with people from different sections of societies and sought the cooperation from all the communities to ensure Ambedkar Jayanti is celebrated peacefully. He appealed leaders of different organisations to be at the forefront for mainatining peace during the celebrations.

Superintendent of police,

Kolhapur Sanjay Mohite

said, “We have already taken arrangements to ensure the celebrations are conducted peacefully without any untoward incident. We have started removing digital boards and posters that have objectionable content which may hurt the sentiments of any section of society.”

Against the backdrop of the recent clashes in the state after the Koregaon-Bhima incident, police officials are treading carefully and taking precautionary measures to ensure Ambedkar Jayanti and Shiv Jayanti (April 17) are celebrated peacefully without any law and order problem.

Police have also appealed people not to spread objectionable messages on social media platforms like Whatsapp and Facebook. A senior cop stated strict legal action will be taken against those who are found guilty of spreading messages that are likely to create law and order problem.

City MLA

Rajesh Kshirsagar

stated it is the responsibility of the leaders to ensure their followers abide by the law and celebrate programmes peacefully and organise rallies without affecting the daily routine of people. “If anything unpleasant happens, the leaders should shoulder the responsibility,” he said.

As a precautionary measure, the superintendent of police has issued externment orders to as many as 200 persons who are registered as criminals in police records as they may pose a threat to law and order during Ambedkar Jayanti and Shiv Jayanti celebrations.

According to police officials, the orders have been issued against these persons and they have been asked to stay away from the district for the time period. Some of them have been asked not to enter the district for 15 days, some for one month and some others for six months, said a senior police officer.


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