An old hand at controlling order in Old City

HYDERABAD: He knows the ‘purana shahar’ of Hyderabad like the back of his hand. He has seen mob fury at its worst, arson and days of endless violence after the demolition of Babri Masjid.Anurag Sharma, an IPS officer of the 1982 batch, took charge as in-charge ‘kotwal’ of Hyderabad on Tuesday after AK Khan went for a mid-career training programme. Though he had worked as DCP of the troubled south zone way back in 1992, he has not lost grip over the old city. That became clear as he gave instructions to his subordinates _ reeling out names of the communally-sensitive lanes and bylanes _  with ease and instructing them to focus on those areas to prevent trouble.‘’Hold the fort of the entire Talabkatta- Sultan Shahi stretch,’’ he instructs his subordinate as he settles down in a sofa in the police commissioner’s office in Purani Haveli in the old city, after going round the troubled spots along with additional commissioner (law & order) Amit Garg.‘’The situation is totally under control,’’ he insists as he talks to Express. Asked when he is likely to announce relaxation in curfew in the Saidabad and Madannapet localities, Sharma says that normalcy is returning in those areas and once they are convinced that both areas have turned normal, they will announce some relaxation in the curfew timings.  Sharma had worked as DCP, South zone from July 29, 1992 to September 28, 1995 when he witnessed several bouts of violence. As a DCP, he took up several confidence building measures.