A Kerala state intelligence report has revealed that there is “too much politicisation” in the police force, as reported by Matrubhumi. This intelligence report thus claimed that such an outlook would affect the police force’s credibility.
New Indian Express reports that, this “politicising” has been hampering the “effective and neutral policing” in the state. This report was submitted by the intelligence officials to the state’s police chief Loknath Behera.
The intelligence report also complained about the politically styled slogans and martyr commemoration during police association meetings. As per the report, such sloganeering were observed during association meetings held at Ernakulam Rural, Kozhikode and Pathanamthitta districts. This was termed as a blot on the police force’s image and a contravention of the service rules.
Even though it isn’t clear as to what the report insinuated via the term “martyr slogans”, media reports in recent days have reported instances of policemen raising slogans for the deceased CPM workers.
It is not clear whether the intelligence department has made recommendations with regards to the problem plaguing the state police.
While speaking about the intelligence report, the police chief has assured that the matter will be taken seriously and action would be taken against the offending parties.
The supposed political biases of the Kerala cops were also noticed when the BJP office in Trivandrum was attacked by CPM goons, during which most of the policemen, who were tasked with its security, appeared to remain mere bystanders.
The politicisation of Kerala’s police force was also insinuated by RSS leader J Nandakumar, who alleged that the Kerala police collude with the communists. As per him, many policemen – whom he referred to as goons – were members of the trade unions or other outfits affiliated to communist organisations, and instead of protecting the citizens from the red terror, they either played the role of a mute witness, or worse – helped the communists in spreading the terror.