Police have allowed the BJP to hold a public meeting at the Nehru Maidan on Thursday between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. as part of its ‘Mangaluru chalo’ programme. But it has been banned from taking out any motorbike rally or procession as part of the meeting.
Police Commissioner T.R. Suresh issued an order on Wednesday banning any organisation from taking out procession, padayatra, rally, or jatha with or without vehicles from 6 p.m. on Wednesday to midnight on September 8. The order was issued under Section 35 (3) of the Karnataka Police Act. The order said it was in view of maintaining law and order in the city.
Meanwhile, former Mangaluru Police Commissioner M. Chandra Sekhar, now IGP, CID and Economic Offences, arrived in the city on Wednesday. He would be in-charge of overall security arrangements on Thursday.
Mr. Suresh told reporters that eight Superintendent of Police (SP) level officers, 12 DySPs, 30 Police Inspectors, 60 Sub-Inspectors, 60 constables and home guards, 15 platoons of KSRP and 15 platoons of District Armed Reserve (DAR) have been deployed in the city for security.