Chennai gets synchronised police patrolling following spate of murders

Stung by the unprecedented increase in the number of murders in Chennai over the last one month, Tamil Nadu Government has sprang up into action and has introduced synchronised patrolling all over the metropolis. Things reached a flashpoint with the gruesome murder of S Swathi, a 24-year-old software engineer by a stranger at Nungambakkam Railway Station last Friday in front of hundreds of people.

Following the failure of the police to nab the culprit even after five days, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa summoned the entire police top brass and sought an on the spot explanation from them. The meeting which was also attended by the Chief Minister’s special secretaries and the chief secretary, ordered the police bosses to beef up patrolling and security all over the State.

On Thursday, Chennai City Police launched Synchronised Patrolling all over the city which will see monitoring of the metropolis by four-layers of patrolling. According to a senior police official, in addition to the existing “visible policing” (a network of high speed police cars being parked in all vantage points across the city with lights flashing), policemen riding motor cycles and bicycles would patrol the streets, lanes and by-lanes all over Chennai.

Jayalalithaa flagged off a fleet consisting of 250 bicycles and 100 motor cycles on Thursday. This will supplement the “visible police” network since the policemen riding the bikes and bicycles could patrol the streets and by-lanes. The synchronised patrolling consisting of all these layers is expected to flush out trouble makers in the entire Greater Chennai.

A former police official pointed out that efforts were on to revive the informer system all over the State. “With the advent of hi-tech gadgets like satellite and mobile phones, the dependence on human intelligence gathering was given a go by and this resulted in the increase in crime rates. let them go back to the basics which are a must even with the presence of advanced technology,” he said.

The gruesome murder of Swathi  has turned out to be the stick with which the entire opposition has launched an attack on the government. From DMK chief M Karunanidhi to VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan, the opposition leaders blame the AIADMK Government for break down in law and order across the State.