Express News Service
MALUR ( KOLAR): All salons in Malur Taluk were packed and are likely to remain so, as police march in youngsters with ‘stylish’ haircuts for a more sensible and gentlemanly crop. The long and short of it is that after a 15-year-old girl, a student of class X, was murdered under the Malur Railway Bridge, several parents of school and college-going girls complained to the police that oddly dressed and styled youngsters were roaming around college and school campuses, and also in residential areas.
The Malur Police then hit upon a cutting-edge technique. On Monday, the police combed the streets for loitering youngsters with flashy haircuts and gathered them into nearby salons for a stern military cut. Interestingly, the police themselves are paying for the haircuts.Sources in the police force said that none of the youngsters were harried. Instead, they were gently guided to the nearest barber. On Monday alone, 25 youngsters were given a sensible trim in Malur city. A senior police officer said, “The police officers are not acting against them. This is being done for the peace of mind of their parents and in the interest of the society.”
As the news spread, to avoid embarrassment, youngsters voluntarily started lining up for haircuts. One such person said, “I simply followed my friends when I got the earlier haircut. I don’t want to be taken to the parlour by the police, therefore I got the trim voluntarily”. Youths were alerting each other about the police action through WhatsApp, asking their friends not to come out as the police are watching their movements and advising them to get the military cut on their own.
Parents of young boys are happy too. Santhosh Kumar, who commutes to Bengaluru every day, said that he has told his son to cut the hair neatly many times but his entreaties fall on deaf ears. “But, on Monday, he took `100 from me and rushed to the salon,” he said. Chandra Shekar, who runs a business in Malur, said, “After the girl’s murder, parents have cause for worry. The decision by the police is welcome. Children don’t listen to parents about keeping a decent haircut and sensible dressing.”
