Bengaluru: Under a special drive titled ‘Pickup Squad’ against rowdies and other antisocial elements, city police have booked over 3,500 people under Karnataka Police (KP) Act in the past 110 days.During the drive, police found 144 rowdies consuming drugs, while 28 were allegedly involved in peddling. Seven people were caught possessing weapons, including machetes, and booked under the Arms Act. Police also detained 14 foreign nationals, most of them Nigerians, for overstaying and shifted them to a detention centre.The operation targeted 35-40 identified pockets across the city where rowdies and antisocial elements were known to gather at night, city police commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh said. “As the name suggests, the Pickup Squad visits selected areas late at night. If officers find rowdies or antisocial elements engaged in suspicious activities, they are booked under the KP Act. They are issued notices requiring them to appear before a court and pay a fine of Rs 100 or Rs 200. It is a surprise-check mechanism that helps keep rowdies and antisocial elements under police radar,” Singh said.78 booked under KCOCAAccording to city police records, 78 rowdies were booked under Karnataka Control of Organised Crime Act (KCOCA) between Jan 2025 and June 2026. KCOCA is typically invoked against hardened criminals involved in organised crime, and securing bail under the Act is difficult.DCP (crime) Shrihari Babu BL said those booked under KCOCA were mainly accused in serious offences such as murder and attempted murder.Recently, CCB police detained notorious rowdy Srinivasa Gowda alias Havali Seena under the Goonda Act and shifted him to Ballari Central Prison. Police said they chose not to lodge him in Bengaluru Central Prison as he was familiar with the facility and could continue his activities from there. “Bengaluru Central Prison is like a second home for him; there is every chance that he will continue his activities from there also,” Babu said.“Between Jan 2025 and June 2026, we externed 160 rowdies from the city, barring them from returning for one year. Bengaluru currently has more than 6,800 rowdies, of whom around 2,300 are active. East division has the highest number (518), followed by southwest (355) and south (244) divisions. The Pickup Squad focuses on these areas,” another police source said.Police also opened rowdy sheets against 172 people in the first six months of 2026.“Pickup Squad works in coordination with Hoysala patrol vehicles. If we receive complaints about people smoking outside shops in residential areas or creating public nuisance, the squad is immediately dispatched. We urge the public to report such incidents by calling the police control room on 112,” a police source said.
