24,000 cops set to secure Sabarimala route to let in women

24,000 cops set to secure Sabarimala route to let in women
The police will be deployed in four phases, with each phase stretching up to 15 days and having at least 5,000 personnel present from Nilakkal to Sannidhanam.

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Police has drawn up an elaborate plan to ensure safety of women devotees coming for Sabarimala darshan during the upcoming the Mandala-Makaravilakku season beginning from November 16.

More than 24,000 police personnel, including commandoes and women constables, will be part of the deployment that will be done in four phases. Besides, the government has also requested police personnel from neighbouring states and central forces.

The police have been told by the government in no uncertain terms that women devotees of all ages should be able to do their Sabarimala darshan this time. The security will be handled by two ADGPs, six IGs and eight SPs.

The police will be deployed in four phases, with each phase stretching up to 15 days and having at least 5,000 personnel present from Nilakkal to Sannidhanam (sanctum sanctorum).

By the Makaravilakku season, the number of cops will go up to 7,000. Last year, there were 3,000 cops deployed in the beginning and 6,000 for Makaravilakku.

Security operations will be coordinated by south zone ADGP Anil Kanth and Thiruvananthapuram range IG Manoj Abraham. ADGP (police headquarters) S Anandakrishnan will lead the police team. During every phase, an IG-rank officer will be leading the security deployment at Pamba and Sannidhanam.

While IG P Vijayan will be in-charge of Sannidhanam, Thrissur range IG M R Ajit Kumar will be looking after the forces deployed from Nilakkal to Pamba. Earlier, these roles were handled by SPs.

There will be two SPs each under the IGs. There will be a permanent team at Marakkootam under an SP. IGs Dinendra Kashyap, S Sreejith and E J Jayaraj will also be part of the security team. During each phase, there will be 32 DySPs, 42 SIs and 98 ASIs in the police team.

In the first phase, 165 women police personnel will be deployed. Initially they will be stationed at Nilakkal, but if needed they will be moved to Sannidhanam too. There will be a reserve team of women cops at the Maniyar camp.

The increase in the number of cops will help police fortify its presence at Sannidhanam, Nilakkal, Pamba, Erumeli and Vadasserikkara. Besides local police, India Reserve Battalion commandoes (90), Kerala Police commandoes (60), NDRF personnel (80) and CRPF's Rapid Action Force personnel (220) will be present at Nilakkal and Sannidhanam.

Help sought from 5 states

The Kerala Police is duty-bound to ensure that the Supreme Court verdict is enforced and women devotees are provided protection, said police chief Loknath Behra. Letters have been sent to five states requesting police personnel, including women, for Sabarimala deployment. Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Karnataka governments have been requested to send at least 100 cops each, said Behra.

The comments posted here/below/in the given space are not on behalf of Onmanorama. The person posting the comment will be in sole ownership of its responsibility. According to the central government's IT rules, obscene or offensive statement made against a person, religion, community or nation is a punishable offense, and legal action would be taken against people who indulge in such activities.