In the first two months of this year alone, the Karnataka police department has dropped the names of 7,361 people from the list of rowdy sheeters. This is more than double the number of names de-listed last year (3,314). Retired police officials have raised concerns over the en-mass removal of names from the list during an election year.
Replying to a starred question raised by Congress MLC Arvind Kumar Arali from Bidar in the House, Home Minister Araga Jnanendra in a written statement said the government has dropped the name of 26,319 rowdy sheeters since 2018. The highest number of rowdies were de-listed in 2021 when 8,062 names were removed.
Arali said he raised this question in Council after he grew suspicious over the dropping of the names of 519 rowdy sheeters, who were all from one community, which is close to the ruling party, in Bidar. “I had sought details on caste/religion wise inclusion and deletion of names in the rowdy sheeters list from across the State,” said Arali.
However, the reply did not provide this disaggregated data. The reply from the Home Ministry says that the police “does not take religion/caste into consideration while opening rowdy sheets against individuals.”
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The names of rowdy sheeters were dropped based on their ‘good behaviour’ and non-involvement in rowdy activities in the last 10 years, the ministry explained. However, opposition party leaders claim that only members of one community were dropped, keeping in mind the ensuing elections.
A retired IPS officer, who did not wish to be named, said while it is common for politicians to exert pressure on local police to withdraw their followers' names from the list, en-mass deletion of rowdy sheeters' names is unheard of in Karnataka. “In an election year the withdrawal of names will only embody the henchmen to intimidate voters,” he added.
Police keep a regular tab on rowdy sheeters and they are among the first to be picked up in case of any untoward incidents.
The communally sensitive Mangaluru city witnessed the highest number (781) of rowdy sheeters names being dropped so far this year. In 2022, 97 names were delisted.
Speaking to DH, Mangaluru City Police Commissioner N Shashi Kumar said there was no political pressure to drop any name from the rowdy sheeters’ list. “The deletion of names takes place based on the recommendation of the unit officer (the Assistant Commissioner of Police or Deputy Superintendent of Police) depending on the severity of the case and the behaviour of the individual over the years. We do not look at any rowdy sheeters’ religion or caste,” he said. The Commissioner added that delisting is a routine exercise that the police take at the end of every year either to proceed with or close the file.
“Majority of the names deleted in Mangaluru are of ‘C-sheeters (budding rowdy sheeter) or those above the age of 65. The deleted list consists of names of members from all communities,” he said.
Additional Director General of Police (Law & Order) Alok Kumar said there are more than 47,000 rowdy sheeters in Karnataka. The names of only those miscreants against whom no heinous crimes are registered have been withdrawn. “This will help in having a focused approach in taking preventive action against the active and notorious rowdies. Preventive action is being initiated against each of the more than 47,000 existing rowdy sheeters in the state,” he said and added that only after due diligence and following the procedure has the department withdrawn the names and there was no political pressure.
Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said the State government has asked the police department to withdraw the names of only those rowdy sheeters against whom there are no cases and those wrongly implicated