Thiruvananthapuram: The Pinarayi Vijayan government has chosen to celebrate the heroics of cops who held the fort for the Nava Kerala Sadas en masse, a people’s outreach programme of the state government.
The development comes amid outrage over the highhandedness of cops – including the CM’s controversial gunman – and other overzealous personnel of his security detail, who went out of their brief to thrash activists of opposition parties protesting against the government’s people outreach programme.
The directive to Superintendents of Police (SPs) and Inspector Generals (IGs) is to reward all cops with exemplary service. The diktat to honour the “valiant cops” bypasses Additional Director General of Police M R Ajith Kumar.
Senior police officers have been asked to recommend names of cops for this. The Nava Kerala Sadas had drawn flak for the way cops and activists of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) roughed up protesters. The CM’s gunman had also stirred controversy by baton-charging protesters, a charge which Pinarayi denied.
Pinarayi had said his security personnel and gunman were only performing a rescue act to protect him from protesters. Gunman Anilkumar who was supposed to be with the CM always to ensure his security had violated protocol by baton-charging protesters.
Though the CM feigned ignorance about the gunman Anilkumar’s brazen violation of protocol, and the police were reluctant to file a case against him. But after the High Court intervened, a case has been charged against Anilkumar.
The Youth Congress and Kerala Students Union (KSU), feeder organisations of the Congress, led a protest march to the residences of Anilkumar and Sandeep, another cop in the CM’s security detail, in the capital city. That march also turned violent and police had to use water cannons to disperse protesters.
Good Service Entry norms
Good Service Entry is normally given to cops for exemplary investigation or life-saving exercises under adverse circumstances. Personal security officers of the Indian Police Service (IPs) officers are also conferred Good Service Entry. This is the maiden time cops would be conferred Good Service Entry for beating up protesters in Kerala, critics say.
