How IPS officer Suresh Khopade’s mohalla committees kept Bhiwandi peaceful
Neighbourhood committees of Hindus and Muslims, set up by police in 1988, helped Bhiwandi avoid deaths in the 1992-93 riots.
Suresh Khopade, posted as DCP in Bhiwandi near Mumbai in 1988, set up 70 mohalla committees of about 50 members each, roughly half Hindu and half Muslim. Led by constables, they met fortnightly in neighbourhoods to settle small disputes over water, garbage and family matters. His successor Gulabrao Pol continued them. During the December 1992 to January 1993 riots, when Mumbai saw heavy loss of life, Bhiwandi recorded no deaths.
- Where
- Bhiwandi, near Mumbai, Maharashtra
- When
- 1988 to 1993 (reported 6 March 2020)
- Who
- Suresh Khopade, IPS; Gulabrao Pol; Bhiwandi mohalla committees
- Source
- The Better India
