Special attention being given to border district of Kodagu: K'taka Home Minister

Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra on Tuesday said special attention is being given to curb criminal activities in Kodagu district bordering Kerala, amid concerns expressed by a legislator from there regarding migrant labourers from Bangladesh and other places, and urging authorities to maintain their records.

The Minister was responding to Madikeri BJP MLA Appachu Ranjan, who raised the issue of more than 400 criminal cases pending in Kodagu district, migrant labourers issue among others, during the question hour, in the Assembly.

”Special attention is being given to Kodagu district. There are a certain number of cases that are pending, I have instructed officials to identify them soon, and the work is in progress,” Jananendra said.

He said, ”Kodagu is on the Karnataka and Kerala border and most of the time criminals after committing the crime, cross the borders, it is from both sides. So some time there had been difficulty in finding and nabbing them. So strict instructions have been given to authorities in this regard.”

Kodagu is considered sensitive and has witnessed some communal incidents in the past. Earlier raising the issue, Ranjan said, many people have come from Assam, Bangladesh and other places as labourers to Kodagu, and they need to be identified and records should be maintained at the local police stations about them, so that it will be easy to nab them in case any of them are involved in criminal activities.

Also pointing out that according to the government only 20 CCTV cameras have been installed by it in the Kodagu district, which has tourist places like Gonikoppa, Virajpet, and Madikeri that attract large numbers of people, he urged it to install them in good numbers.

The Home Minister in his response said, CCTV cameras have been installed in the district by police in police stations and nearby areas and footage is taken from private CCTV cameras for investigation whenever required.

Other than in Bengaluru, which got central funds for this purpose, the department has not put up CCTV cameras widely in other districts, he said, adding that in the days to come this may be considered.

Intervening, Congress MLA U T Khader said District Mines Fund (DMF) can be used by the government for the installation of CCTV cameras in the respective districts, while Gurmitkal MLA Nanganagouda Kandakur from JD(S) suggested that the government issue a circular allowing MLA LAD funds to be used for this purpose.