‘Will Create Good Relationship between Citizens & Police’- New SP Laxmi Prasad
Mangaluru: Taking charge as Superintendent of Police on Tuesday 1 January 2019, B M Laxmi Prasad had his maiden interaction with the media persons on Wednesday 2 January at his cabin, and addressing the journos he said, “My first and foremost plan is to create a good rapport and relationships between the public and the police, which is very much lacking. I know that this City comprises of educated and well to do people, and my intention is to meet as many citizens through various programmes or personal appointments so that a good understanding and friendly relationship is created between the public and police”.
“My predecessor had introduced the Police Beat, but I want to straighten and strengthen it, and also keep an eye on the Beat personnel, whether they are doing their job right and in a dedicated and systematic way. I want to create a trust between the police and the public. Regarding the sand mining issue, I am yet to get a clear picture on that issue, since it has only been a day since I took over this post. But I will surely deal seriously and severely with anyone indulging in illegal sand mining activities” added SP Prasad.
When asked by a journo that rumours are that police too have a hand in hand connection with the sand mafia, for which in response SP Prasad said that that police who are found doing such kind of activity will be punished and severe action taken against them. “Regarding the ganja menace going in DK and City, those persons dealing with ganja and those consuming it will be severely punished. My aim is to make this City drug-free, and I will do my best to stop all drug activity here. When people come to us with their grievances I will make sure that their issues are genuine, go deep into them in understanding them, and then only proceed with the proper investigation” said SP Laxmi Prasad.
He further said, “About the naxals we will strengthen out Ant-Naxal squad, and we will crack down on them. Rumours are that a few naxals are based near the Kerala border, and we will try to locate their hideouts and identify their status, and take action against them. We will also update our police blog, where I have come to know that it lacks important crime incidents. I will see that the news is updated every day promptly. We will also try to give more authority to the lower level police force so that they could handle situations by themselves, rather than depend on the seniors”.
When Team Mangalorean questioned the SP as to why he chose to take up the police career, when he had a high paid job at an IT company, for which he replied saying, “I was given a good knowledge of UPSC by one of my friend, which I was not aware of it before- so I decided to appear for the UPSC examination, passed it and got a good police post. I always wanted to serve the community, and help them in their problems/grievances, and so I thought that the police job was the right source. And also that in a corporate sector you don’t get much chance to interact with people, because everyone is busy with their hectic work schedule. I am happy with the right decision that I made, and will see that I will perform my duties to the best of my ability”. 
The new SP Laxmi Prasad took over the charge from Dr B R Ravikanthe Gowda, who got promoted as inspector general of police and transferred to the department of fire services, Bengaluru. SP Laxmi Prasad’s ancestors are based in Ajekkar in Karkala, while his parents were employed with Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd, so he did his schooling at Kudremukh Central school. After completing his education in BE Computer Science, he worked at Hewlett Packard, an IT Company, earning a yearly salary package of nearly Rs 11 lakh. Even though he had this high paying job, his intention was to appear for the UPSC exam, and after passing it he joined the police force, quitting the IT job since he wanted to serve the community. Apart from speaking English and Kannada, he said he can understand Tulu language also.
Prior to taking up this SP post here, Prasad was ASP in Bagalkote, where he dealt seriously with the sand mafia and brought them under control. And this is his first posting as an SP of a District.
