A little planning would have helped matters

A little planning would have helped matters
The Times of India

Bangalore: The arson and violence in Bangalore since Wednesday afternoon was unprecedented in recent times, with the police appearing ill-equipped.

While the unanticipated surge of crowds may have worsened matters, lack of planning was also evident. As the crowds went on the rampage, the police appeared hopelessly helpless.

Says noted litterateur and playwright Girish Karnad: “When someone is alive we consider that it is not ‘shuba’ to talk about death. So we are never prepared for it. The moment the news came that Rajkumar was dead, the authorities would have known trouble was waiting to break out. Someone should have sat with the family and made a plan. In the West, they keep the body for three or four days for people to pay their respects. This allows the authorities time to plan for the funeral procession. Here, there was no preparation. It is not so much a criticism of the authorities as a comment on our culture.’’

Retired DGP S N S Murthy says: “Surely, what happened today was not the way to pay tribute to the legend. There must be a more civilised way... There must have been some lacunae in the arrangements. Police must have been outnumbered.The officers on the spot are the best judges.”

So what kept them from taking stringent action, asks another senior retired police officer. Is the Karnataka police so slack that it cannot control such crowds, he asked, in the light of the fact that it was not just residents who were terrorised, but even policemen.

Sources said CRPF personnel wanted a free hand in dealing with the crowds, but were denied permission. A senior officer said their brief was to maintain restraint till the funeral was over.

Even when Rajkumar was alive, things went out of control at a felicitation held last year. When the then CM Dharam Singh arrived, the mob went wild and threw chappals at him, pointed out Karnad. “It brings out other frustrations in people. The Bengaluru rebels are frustrated, perhaps, that the glory of Bangalore does not percolate down to them. If someone cries for some reason, it is not the real reason. It is political unrest.”