Kottayam: The meeting of top police officials being convened here on Thursday is set to discuss the grave allegations raised recently against the state's police force.
Though the conference is convened as a routine quarterly meeting, home ministry sources expect the event to take up the major issues which put the police on the defensive. Since the recent incidents hasve eroded the credibility of the force seriously, steps will also be discussed for resolving the complaints brought against the home ministry.
Top police officials are learned to have cautioned that the protests from the public as well as the Opposition should not go unheeded. Many high ranking officials feel that the trends of custody deaths, police excesses and vehicle inspections have gone out of hand.
The meeting will also hear suggestions to avoid repetition of untoward incidents. Director General of Police has asked district police chiefs to present a report of the districts for three months, including the complaints raised against the police and the details of case. This may also lead to debate about the shortfalls of district police chiefs. And there are many against whom adverse intelligence reports do exist, the main deficiency being thaty are not able to rise to the occasion on major issues.
In the matter of land acquisition for national highway expansion, there have been arguments from top police officials for and against the performance of police. The meet may also discuss to what extent police can intervene in such issues.
On top of all, even the chief minister is reported to have conveyed his displeasure over the recent actions by the police. Now that a message of warning nature has emerged from the CM, the proceedings are also likely to be on a grave note. The home ministry itself more or less ratifies the reading that CM is losing control over the police and therefore there is a strong view that a serious overhaul of the existing dispensation is essential.