The Karnataka Government Tuesday unveiled a new navy blue peak cap for constables in the state police, who wear the slouch caps, with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah saying, “it is just a start”.
While several states have changed their police forces’ caps in the past, Karnataka has done so for the first time in 50 years.
Siddaramaiah distributed the new caps and launched the Anti-Narcotics Task Force in the banquet hall at Vidhana Soudha. “I personally chose the P-cap to replace it. This is just a start. We also need a change in the performances of the forces and their duties,” he added.
Home Minister G Parameshwara said during the British era, police personnel wore slouch hats, but after Independence, they wore turbans. In 1973, then chief minister Devaraj Urs introduced the slouch cap.
“During rains, it (the old hat) would become heavy and was not aesthetically appealing. Even in 2015, when I was home minister, there was a proposal for change, but it could not materialise for various reasons,” he recalled.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar was also present during the ceremony.
Citing the India Justice report, Siddaramaiah said that Karnataka ranks first among states on several measures of the justice system. “We need to make a drug-free state, and the new Anti-Narcotics Task Force will be assisted by the Sanmitra programme,” he said.
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Speaking about the violence and unrest in Mangaluru, Siddaramaiah said the situation has been brought under control due to changes in the police leadership. “The previous officers did not control it. I ordered the change of two police officers, and now things are under control. They have not come from another planet but our own officers. It shows that if there is ‘will there is way’,” he added.
Siddaramaiah said that a new constable recruitment would be issued within a week. “We have cleared the hiring of 8,500 police constables to fill the vacant 14,000 constable posts statewide. Five hundred forty-five police sub-inspectors are already in training,” he added