KPOA demands special NDPS stations in all districts

The Ernakulam rural district committee of the Kerala Police Officers Association (KPOA) has urged the State government to open police stations and courts dedicated to handle cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in every district. The association raised the demand in a resolution presented at its district meet held in Kothamangalam on Tuesday.

The proposal for special police stations was mooted in response to the rise in the number of NDPS cases which delayed investigation and trial in a time-bound manner, the association said.

The association also called for setting up three new police stations in the district at Bhoothathankettu, Pezhakkappilly, and Edavanakkad.

A new station at Pezhakkappilly is required to decrease the workload of personnel at Muvattupuzha, Kunnathunad, Perumbavoor, Kuruppampady and Kothamangalam stations. Similarly, a station at Edvanakkad will help ease the workload of Njarackal and Munambam stations while ensuring better services for people in the coastal belt, the KPOA resolution said.

The meet took exception to the alleged assault on Midhun Roy, a civil police officer, by a group of youths at a shopping mall in Thiruvananthapuram. The resolution called for legal actions and legislation to ensure strict punishment for those who ran fake campaigns against acts by police officers as part of discharging their duties and assaulted them.

The association registered protest over staging marches to the residences of police personnel challenging their privacy.

Arul R.B. Krishna, Deputy Inspector General, Ernakulam Range, inaugurated the meet. District Police Chief (Ernakulam Rural) K.S. Sudarshan was the chief guest. Anilkumar T. Meppilly, district president, KPOA, chaired the meet.