Mysuru city police jurisdiction set to expand, to include semi-urban outskirts

Mysuru: The jurisdiction of Mysuru city police, which has 18 law and order police stations, will soon be redrawn by including semi-urban parts on the outskirts of Mysuru city.City police officers are coordinating with the IGP of the Southern Range police, who heads five district police, including Mysuru district, to finalise the boundary, as some areas in the district police limits will now come within the city jurisdiction. According to an officer, many villages in west Mysuru are likely to be included in the city police commissionerate, as per the decision.Home minister G Parameshwara directed police commissioner Seema Latkar to send a proposal in this regard during the inauguration of the new building of Siddartha Nagar traffic police station nearly two weeks previously.Seema Latkar told TOI the city police are preparing a report marking the clear and exact boundaries in consultation with the Southern Police Range IGP MB Boralingaiah. The proposal would then be sent to the govt for approval, she said.Residential areas and land surrounding Mysuru city police limits are set to expand as authorities redraw the boundaries of various city police jurisdictions, especially those on the edges of Mysuru city. This comes amidst state govt okaying the proposal to expand the MCC boundaries by creating Greater MCC.Sources said the proposed changes in the city police commissionerate would bring several villages in western Mysuru within the Mysuru city police limits. At present, these villages fall under the jurisdiction of the Mysuru district police. If approved, the shift would transfer responsibility for law and order, crime prevention, patrolling, and local policing services from the district police to the city police in the newly included areas.An officer noted that expanding the city police limits without a corresponding increase in manpower and resources could create operational challenges. The officer said additional workload would likely affect response time, beat coverage, and the ability to maintain routine policing in both existing city areas and the newly added localities.The city cops have the challenging task of managing the VIP movement in the tourist hub, coupled with the Dasara festival, which adds to their work pressure.The boundary revision is being considered in the context of rapid growth on the outskirts of Mysuru, where new residential layouts and colonies emerged beyond the current city's police limits.Presently, the Mysuru Airport and the Chamundi Hills are under the jurisdiction of the Mysuru city police commissionerate even though they are located in areas where Mysuru district police have jurisdiction.