Bengaluru City Police

My friend Nitin Vyas has this experience to relate: "At9.00am on 22nd May on Kanakpura road, close to Thalgatpura Police station. KSRTC bus no. KA 42F 040 ran in to my car from behind. The rear  of my car was completely damaged . (The estimated cost of repairs is Rs 1 lakh.) The bus drove away from the scene as I took my car to the side of the road.. I went to Thalagatpura Police station at 9.15 am to file an FIR against the bus driver. Arun Thimme  Gowda was in charge of registering complaints. He did not respond…

My friend Nitin Vyas has this experience to relate: "At9.00am on 22nd May on Kanakpura road, close to Thalgatpura Police station. KSRTC bus no. KA 42F 040 ran in to my car from behind. The rear  of my car was completely damaged . (The estimated cost of repairs is Rs 1 lakh.) The bus drove away from the scene as I took my car to the side of the road.. I went to Thalagatpura Police station at 9.15 am to file an FIR against the bus driver. Arun Thimme  Gowda was in charge of registering complaints. He did not respond…

When it suits their dodgy interests, the political parties actually cooperate with each other, even though they are theoretically opponents in the electoral and other arenas. Yesterday (June 11, 2013) we saw a very good example of this in the Karnataka Legislative Council. Some years ago, the Supreme Court handed down a judgment that was intended to free the police forces from direct political interference. The court ordered the establishment of an appointments Board in each state that would manage the postings of lower level police staff (below the rank of DySP). This Board is filled with members of senior…

When it suits their dodgy interests, the political parties actually cooperate with each other, even though they are theoretically opponents in the electoral and other arenas. Yesterday (June 11, 2013) we saw a very good example of this in the Karnataka Legislative Council. Some years ago, the Supreme Court handed down a judgment that was intended to free the police forces from direct political interference. The court ordered the establishment of an appointments Board in each state that would manage the postings of lower level police staff (below the rank of DySP). This Board is filled with members of senior…

Mahesh Shantaram writes on his Facebook wall:On October 2nd, my mobile phone was stolen. The thief was caught on October 25th. Of the more than 40 phones he had stolen, he made the mistake of keeping mine for himself. My thoughts:1. I had to get a court order for the police to legally release the phone from their custody. This picture goes to the court as 'proof' that the transaction is complete. The System exists, and the System works, but I am amazed and amused by how the System sees photography as a tool for evidence gathering and documentation.2. Amongst…

Mahesh Shantaram writes on his Facebook wall:On October 2nd, my mobile phone was stolen. The thief was caught on October 25th. Of the more than 40 phones he had stolen, he made the mistake of keeping mine for himself. My thoughts:1. I had to get a court order for the police to legally release the phone from their custody. This picture goes to the court as 'proof' that the transaction is complete. The System exists, and the System works, but I am amazed and amused by how the System sees photography as a tool for evidence gathering and documentation.2. Amongst…

"Freedom is another word for nothing left to lose", said someone. But, for many people who often lose the little that they have, freedom is another wor(l)d. And that wor(l)d did not appear on 15th August 1947 or later for the majority who live in India at present. In fact, such a wor(l)d may never exist at all for this majority. So, sometime in mid 2007 some of us in Bangalore and other parts of the country decided that we should support and celebrate ongoing struggles for freedom. From that emerged the idea of a Civil Society Summit (CSS) -…

"Freedom is another word for nothing left to lose", said someone. But, for many people who often lose the little that they have, freedom is another wor(l)d. And that wor(l)d did not appear on 15th August 1947 or later for the majority who live in India at present. In fact, such a wor(l)d may never exist at all for this majority. So, sometime in mid 2007 some of us in Bangalore and other parts of the country decided that we should support and celebrate ongoing struggles for freedom. From that emerged the idea of a Civil Society Summit (CSS) -…

Bangalore Traffic Police (BTP) won the ‘Golden Peacock Awards for Innovative Product/Service’ for its B-TRAC project, on January 21st. The award, instituted by Institute of Directors (IOD) and Golden Peacock Awards Secretariat, was conferred at the '22nd World Congress on Total Quality Summit' at Hotel Lalit Ashok. Police Commissioner B G Jyothiprakash Mirji and ACP (Traffic) M A Saleem accepting the Golden Peacock Award on January 21st. According to a press release by the police department, BTP got the award for these achievements: Installing 179 surveillance cameras to monitor traffic.Installing five enforcement cameras to check traffic violations.Installing 20 Variable Messaging…

Bangalore Traffic Police (BTP) won the ‘Golden Peacock Awards for Innovative Product/Service’ for its B-TRAC project, on January 21st. The award, instituted by Institute of Directors (IOD) and Golden Peacock Awards Secretariat, was conferred at the '22nd World Congress on Total Quality Summit' at Hotel Lalit Ashok. Police Commissioner B G Jyothiprakash Mirji and ACP (Traffic) M A Saleem accepting the Golden Peacock Award on January 21st. According to a press release by the police department, BTP got the award for these achievements: Installing 179 surveillance cameras to monitor traffic.Installing five enforcement cameras to check traffic violations.Installing 20 Variable Messaging…