THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Having taken charge as the 43rd state police chief, Ravada A Chandrasekhar underlines his priorities in a quick chat with TNIE.
What are the areas you will pay special attention to?
The main areas of immediate concern are drug menace and cyber financial crimes. Apart from that, we will strive to enhance the people-centric approach of the force. Kerala Police is known to be friendly towards public. The focus will be to make it more affable for all citizens.
Having associated with the Intelligence Bureau, you are more knowledgeable about drug trafficking. What sort of action can we expect on that front?
The threat posed by the drug mafia is real and will be aptly dealt with. The extent of that threat is less when compared to many other states. But the problem is there and we will take strong measures to curb it. The police are already running the D-hunt special drive and that has brought results. We will continue it more vigorously. Inter-organisational collaboration will be strengthened to purge drug menace.
You spoke about cyber fraud. How is it affecting the state?
Cyber financial crimes are on the rise and that ought to be tackled. The state police have a proper mechanism to deal with the issue. People are losing money to scamsters. We want to get rid of such scams, prevent people from falling victims to such frauds, and bring solace to the ones who are affected.
You have been away on central deputation for long. On return, do you feel the organisation has changed drastically?
I went on deputation in 2009. It’s been a long time and the department has changed a lot. It has gained in infrastructure. More vehicles, people, technology... things have evolved over all these years. I’m happy to see these positive developments and I’m happier to be part of it again.