Bengaluru accounts for one-third of 39,698 registered rowdies in Karnataka

As of June 2025, Karnataka had a complete of 39,698 rowdies, based on knowledge accessed by The Hindu. Of these, Bengaluru accounts for six,249, greater than 3 times the quantity in Kalaburagi, which has the second-highest rely at 1,934.

Out of the whole, 23,016 are categorised as lively rowdies whereas the remaining have had no current instances.

Bengaluru and Kalaburagi additionally lead when it comes to lively rowdies, with 6,210 and 1,475 people, respectively. They are adopted by Ramanagara with 952, Hassan with 883, and Tumakuru with 856.

In response to the rising concern over rowdyism and its affect on regulation and order, the Karnataka Police have pledged to crack down on such components by means of stringent measures.

Three main measures have been carried out statewide: invoking the Karnataka Control of Organised Crime Act (KCOCA), making use of the Goonda Act, and initiating externment proceedings towards rowdies. Additionally, particular person districts have adopted their very own methods to curb the menace.

For occasion, in Hubballi-Dharwad, Police Commissioner N. Shashi Kumar has been conducting frequent rowdy parades and externing repeat offenders. This effort is mirrored within the numbers. Police within the area externed 84 rowdies in 2025, the very best amongst all districts. Across Karnataka, police have externed 1,800 people over the previous three years.

In distinction, Bengaluru police invoked KCOCA towards greater than 90 people in 2024, ensuing of their imprisonment. Former Bengaluru police commissioner B. Dayananda had launched a crackdown on ‘out of view’ (OV) rowdies to enhance monitoring. OV rowdies are those that have evaded routine police checks, or gone off the radar. However, technically, people listed underneath rowdy sheets usually are not imagined to be categorised as OVs, since their function is to allow fixed surveillance. The OV record is often used for these concerned in thefts.

Bengaluru police traced over 750 OV rowdies between 2023 and 2025, considerably enhancing surveillance and enforcement.

S. Girish, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West Division), advised The Hindu that monitoring on the station stage has improved considerably. “We preserve A, B, and C lists of rowdies to make sure higher monitoring. Crime constables and sub-inspectors coordinate frequently, and report updates to the inspector,” he stated.

The ‘A’ record is for rowdies lively for an extended length. The ‘B’ record consists of rowdies committing crimes out of the jurisdiction by which they’re listed as rowdies. A ‘C’ record is maintained to watch budding rowdies.

Police in Bengaluru additionally preserve preventive motion information by gathering formal undertakings from rowdy sheeters.

In different districts, extra conventional strategies are getting used.

Tumakuru Superintendent of Police Ashok Venkat stated his division is constantly appearing on warrants, and has strengthened the position of beat officers to maintain rowdies in examine.

“We are monitoring rowdies frequently and have initiated externment proceedings towards routine offenders. Although invoking the Goonda Act is a fancy course of, we’re dedicated to utilizing it the place obligatory,” he stated.