Mangalore: City Police Commissioner Sumanth Kumar Singh took the initiative to call a meeting exclusively of Muslim leaders, politicians, office-bearers of Muslim associations, and Muslim performers in public service, on Wednesday at hi office in Pandeshwara, Mangalore for the first time.
The meeting was convened also in view of the fact of Ramzan ending in Id-Ul-Fitr, and the major Hindu festival of Gouri-Ganesha Puja with public idols coming up, at the end of this month.
The police were worried about maintaining public peace and order during such festivities, and they needed on active co-operation of a minority community that has been granted free Haj trips by the state.
The police also wanted to tame the anti-social and rebellious elements in both communities, and punish the wrong-doers.
The Muslim leaders demanded that certain private bodies (associations) also be called to take part in peace-keeping committees under every police station limits, apart from representatives of Mosques, Churches, Temples or Shrines.
The police were told to keep a watchful eye on the banners exhibited during these festive occasions. The religion of a culprit should be taken into account, as also the tendency to denigrate all Muslims as terrorists, because of one or ten such violent persons in any cadre.
The demand included protection to mosques during prayers and to Muslim road side vendors, and Muslim applicants for passports at the local office, shorn of suspicions.
Muslims from 17 police station limits attend the peace-keeping meeting called by the city commissionerate of police. Several participants expressed their heart felt opinions on a given subject.
The CPC undertook to call similar meetings of leaders among Christian and Hindu people in the next 2 days this week.