17 cops committed suicide in State in last 15 months

Thiruvananthapuram: As many as 17 police personnel committed suicide in Kerala in the last 15 months, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan informed the state Assembly Friday.

Between January, 2017 and till date, 17 police personnel in the state ended their lives, he said in a written reply to a question by Congress member Adoor Prakash on number suicides of police personnel during the period.

Vijayan also said direction had been given to start fitness and wellness centres at the police academy and police training college to help the personnel deal with stress and tension.

He, however, said it had not been found that mental stress or tension was increasing among police personnel due to their official duties.

Replying to a question by C K Saseedran (CPI-M), Vijayan said it had not been brought to the notice of the government that the trainee police personnel were given 'uncivilised' punishments at the training college.

Steps to revise the police training manual were also on, the Chief Minister added.