Mangaluru: "We do not want any free 'Bhagya', We just want the honest officer of our state. Why is this transfer?". "Dear Home Minister could you justify how crime be controlled if the honest officers be transferred...."
These are some of the 550-odd tweets that have flooded the social media under #WeWantSudheerReddy, which was started on Sunday to force the government to reinstate Sudheer Reddy as the superintendent of police of Dakshina Kannada.
The Twitter campaign was started by Jai Tulunadu on Sunday after the government suddenly transferred Mr Reddy. This is one of the rare campaigns in Dakshina Kannada against the transfer of an officer.
Mr Reddy took charge as SP of Dakshina Kannada on June 22, 2017. The district, especially Kalladka, Bantwal and surrounding areas, was gripped by communal tension then. After taking charge, Mr Reddy succeeded in bringing the district to normal and controlling the law and order situation through effective policing.
He also cracked down on the sand mafia. But it apparently attracted the ire of some politicians. Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy, during his visit to Mangaluru last week, denied that the SP would be transferred, but on Saturday, in a sudden decision, the government brought down the hammer.
"Mr Reddy succeeded in handling the situation in the district and brought it back to normal. He was successful in maintaining law and order at Kalladka, Bantwal and other places, where troublemakers were running riot. He succeeded in controlling all types of crimes," said Jai Tulunadu president Ashwath. "During his tenure, he controlled the sand mafia and booked several cases against them," he said.
"Though he is not from our district, in just a span of few months, he learnt Tulu and used to speak to people in that language, which no other officer has done," he said. "We oppose his transfer and started the hashtag campaign on Sunday so that all those who oppose the transfer of Sudheer Reddy can vent out their feelings," he said.
Till Sunday afternoon, around 520 messages had been tweeted. In many tweets, the chief minister, home minister, prime minister and President of India were also tagged.
