Mangaluru police chief warns rowdies, gangs from settling financial, land disputes

MANGALURU: A tweet by city police commissioner Sandeep Patil directing rowdies/gangs to steer clear from settling land and financial disputes has created a buzz among the city police force. The tweet in the same breath also warns people not to approach such anti-socials but to get their issues addressed legally and that action has been initiated against those who sought help from anti-socials to get one such case sorted at Kadri.
Patil has issued memo to all police stations directing the station house officers to take serious note of any attempts by rowdies/gangs to settle land and financial disputes. The police have been asked to invoke the provisions of The Karnataka Prohibition of Charging Exorbitant Interest Act, 2004 and other provisions of Indian Penal Code to deal with anyone who strives to ‘act’ as an intermediary to settle such cases that is normally the domain of courts.

A senior police officer surmised that the tweet by the city police chief in a way has strictly laid down law of the land on to the men in khaki. “Police normally do not intervene in civil disputes involving land and money and advise the aggrieved parties to settle the same in court,” the officer said, adding any attempt to settle the case will invariably be seen by the person against whom the matter has been settled, to suspect malafide intent.
The seemingly lengthy wait in courts to get such land/financial disputes settled is perhaps what pushes people to approach the anti-socials for quick disposal, the officer surmised. This approach will see anti-social elements resort to use of force or threat which in turn attracts IPC provisions including extortion, robbery or dacoity as the case may be and hence the general advise to people to use legal means to settle such disputes, the officer said.