Mysuru: He is your real life Singham. If Bollywood has its tough cop with a heart that beats for the people, Mysuru has Superintendent of Police, Ravi D Chennannanavar, who is living up to his reputation as a cop with a purpose in Mysuru too.
Every senior police officer in a police station is turning a teacher to reach out to children from underprivileged families in a government school every Thursday thanks to his initiative. While SP Ravi himself turned teacher at the Morarji Desai school in Varkod village recently, other police officers have reached out similarly to at least a 100 government schools in Mysuru district. Under this “Tereda Mane” (Open House) project, a police officer explains to children in government schools about the Constitution, fundamental rights and duties of a citizen, how the Union and state governments function, the benefits of schemes available, about the police department and the role of citizens in preventing crime and so on. “We are counselling children against drug addiction, eve teasing and other bad habits. And female children are being taught self-defence. We are trying to make them feel comfortable about coming to police stations if they a problem to report,” Mr Chennannanavar explains. Come Dec. 15 and he plans to launch another programme to train police constables in dealing with the public. Among his other initiatives is the “grama vasthavyas” or stay in a village by police officers.
