Thiruvananthapuram: Kochi city police commissioner Vijay Sakhare's directive on sharing the details of COVID-19 patients with the app of the Kochi police has ruffled the feathers of the top brass in the state police.
South zone IG Harshita Attaluri has lodged an oral complaint with the DGP. ADGP Sheikh Darvesh Saheb too expressed his displeasure. Various other district police chiefs too have raised their objection.
They have questioned the propriety of an IG giving out a controversial directive, bypassing the ADGPs and DGP at the police headquarters.
Other district police chiefs have reportedly decided not to give any information for the app, which was developed by a private company.
ADGP Sheikh Darvesh Saheb is the state-level nodal officer, tasked with giving instructions and advice to other district police chiefs.
Sakhare had instructed three days ago to share information on the COVID-19 patients in the districts.
Harshita Attaluri had made it clear that details would be handed over only to government apps. Harshita has reportedly asked the SPs in her zone not to share any information for the app.
Confusion over collecting call details
The latest controversy puts the spotlight on the confusion and discord in the police force over the issue of collecting call details.
DGP Loknath Behera had instructed on August 11 to collect call details of the COVID-19 patients. The senior police officers had said that this was an infringement of privacy and had conveyed their objections to the DGP.
While the patients' movements can be monitored using their location, the objection was raised against collecting the call details.
Not invasion of privacy: police
The police said that certain curbs were necessary over an individual's right under extra-ordinary circumstances, and these cannot be termed as infringement of their privacy.
The contents of the phone calls are not being collected and therefore, the Telegraph Act 5(2) is not applicable, the police contended.
The platform was developed with the help of startups and used for tracking, in line with the central government’s orders and guidelines.
The Supreme Court had ruled in the 2017 K S Puttaswamy case that the steps taken to combat a pandemic does not constitute an invasion of the privacy, the police pointed out.
