THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a major move intended to ensure seamless policing and to prevent criminals from finding safe sanctuaries in rural areas, the city police have proposed to the state government to extend its area of jurisdiction. They have requested the state government to bring 11 police stations, which are now under the Thiruvananthapuram rural police, under its control.
The proposal was submitted before the government by City Police Commissioner C Nagaraju in March and is learned to be considered with utmost seriousness by the officials especially in the wake of the recent murder of a youth near Karamana. As per the proposal, the police stations, including Nedumangadu, Kattakada, Pothencode, Mangalapuram, Balaramapuram and Kanjiramkulam, need to be brought under the city police’s control.
The reason cited for this demand is that the measure will help streamline police activities and provide a continuation for its anti-criminal activities.
Senior police sources said geographical urban-rural divide is gradually eroding and emerging towns in the rural parts are playing a role in shaping the criminal activities in the city limits.
“What once used to be small towns have developed into big towns. Places such as Kattakada and Nedumangad play a key role when it comes to maintaining law and order in the city limits. The criminal gangs commit crime in the city and flee to rural areas and the reverse also happen. If such areas are brought under the jurisdiction of the city police, then the continuity of police action can be ensured. Now, what happens is the criminals move to the border areas of the city-rural police districts and exploit the police’s administrative vacuum in those areas,” said a senior official.
The proposal also suggests dividing the city police’s area of jurisdiction into two zones, each being monitored by two deputy commissioners, who will be under the supervision of the commissioner. An additional traffic commissioner also needs to be appointed.
“There are 21 police station coming under the city police, while the rural police have 38 stations. The city police is headed by the commissioner, who is an inspector general, while the rural police is headed by a superintendent. Since the SP pales in experience compared to the IG, it’s ironical that the former has to monitor almost double the number of stations compared to the commissioner,” the official added.
Apart from getting control of 11 stations, the city police also has to carve out two more police sub-divisions if the proposal gets through.
“There needs to be two more police sub-divisions: Vizhinjam and Vattiyoorkavu. Vatiyoorkavu is now under the Cantonment sub-division and it is not convenient to monitor Vattiyoorkavu or Mannanthala stations from that far. Ideally, there should be a separate sub-division with Vattiyoorkavu as the base. Same is the case of Vizhinjam,” the officer added.