Ongole, December 19: Director general of police K Aravinda Rao today justified requisitioning of additional central forces but insisted that they would be used sparingly, should any riots break out after December 31 when the Srikrishna Committee would deliver its report on Telangana issue.
Speaking to reporters here after laying the foundation stone for a guest house for policemen who visit the district headquarters, the DGP said it was always advisable to have more forces at hand so that the presence of the police could be felt. “The purpose of additional forces is not to use them but only to position them to act as a deterrent,” he said.
He said if the department had enough manpower, then there would not arise any occasion to use them as such. “Force is used only when manpower is less and the rioters are more in number,” the DGP said.
He hoped there would not be any major law and order problem in the state after December 31 since everyone was saying that their protests would be democratic in nature.
“There is no reason for us to believe that there would be a major trouble. But we will have manpower ready to discourage rioting,” he said and made an appeal to the political parties to organise protests, if they want to, in a democratic fashion.
The DGP denied foisting cases against students and said the department was examining lifting of cases as mandated by the government.
Meanwhile, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) reacted sharply to requisitioning of forces. TRS leader T Harish Rao said the state government was planning to suppress the Telangana movement using police force.
“The people of Telangana do not want additional forces. What they want is Telangana,” he said, adding that the Centre should not view the demand as a law and order problem but as a social issue.
–Agencies