B Sandhya, Kerala’s second woman IPS officer, retired as Director General of Kerala Fire and Rescue Services last Wednesday. A 1988 batch officer, she was widely perceived to become the state’s first woman police chief, but it wasn’t to be. Here, she talks about her long career and her impression of different home ministers and trysts with high-profile cases.
Excerpts:
You have hung your boots after a long career of more than three decades. Looking back, how do you assess your career?
I started working at the age of 22. It has been a satisfactory inning.
Some say you are the best state police chief Kerala never had…
(Laughs). No point in asking me. That’s a question to be directed at the Kerala society or those in authority.
A woman coming to the top would have done justice to gender equality…
Undoubtedly. But don’t ask me what happened. I am not the one to speak about it. Like the Malayalam proverb — what’s the point in checking the horoscope of a dead infant?
Is there male dominance in the top echelons of the Kerala police?
I’m not the person equipped to respond to such queries. I was not part of the recruitment board of DGPs. I don’t know how DGPs are selected.
Kerala did not have a woman police chief, though there were chances to have one. Is there something wrong with the system?
Society should reply to that. All societies get the police force and police leadership that they deserve. Kerala should decide whether it deserves a woman police chief.
You owe a reply because you are a victim...
I don’t consider myself as a victim. I’m as powerful a human being as any of you. It is not in B Sandhya’s nature to publicly air disappointments.
Did you expect that you would become the state police chief?
There was a probability then. That episode was over soon. There was certainly a possibility. It was a selection post. But it did not happen. That doesn’t mean that the next day onwards I start crying and feel like a victim. No. If so I would not have worked in the Fire Force afterwards. When I joined service I never expected to become police chief.
You investigated some sensational cases such as the P J Joseph case, the Jisha case, and the actress assault case. Shouldn’t such an officer get more time in law and order?
Out of 31 years of service in the police force, 12 years were in law and order and that’s not a short period. Even while serving in the armed battalion, I investigated cases. The P J Joseph case was not an investigation but an enquiry upon being asked by the government.
Were you under pressure because he was a senior politician?
No. No one pressured me to write a report in any particular manner.
There is a tendency in both society and the state police force to spread rumours against women who make it to the top…
You know better about such gossip. In a male-dominated society, such tendencies do prevail. To overcome the same, women should become a critical component in the force. Only when there’s 33 percent representation for women, will our voice be heard.
How did you overcome such obstacles? Any kind of discrimination that you faced?
I never had any such experience within the force. From the day I joined the service, they accepted me as a leader. I had wonderful colleagues. The training SP and the then DGP supported me. My training SP Ravi sir (R N Ravi) told me that your knowledge of things should always be a step ahead of the men you command.
So was it the political class that didn’t accept you?
I feel chief ministers like Karunakaran sir and Nayanar sir never had an issue of that sort. They were very good to me. During Karunakaran sir’s tenure, I was with the Crime Branch for two years. Once he wanted to send me to a district, but the leader there was not keen on having a woman. When the Koothuparambu incident happened, they wanted a new SP. So the then Kollam SP Diwan sir was shifted to Kannur, and I was posted to Kollam. Then A K Antony sir came. Later E K Nayanar. All three of them treated me very well. I never faced any discrimination.
You went on to work with ministers who handled the home portfolio - Oommen Chandy, Thiruvanchoor, Ramesh Chennithala, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, and Pinarayi Vijayan. How were those experiences?
I have never had any bad experiences with any of them.
If we go for a comparison, who will you rate as the best home minister?
Kodiyeri. He was a good listener. If he was able to do something, he would do it. He was highly professional and clearly exceptional. Gave us enough freedom to do our job.
One of the allegations against current Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is that he gives a lot of freedom to policemen. What do you think?
I need not comment on that. During the beginning of his tenure, I was a senior officer — Zonal ADGP. I was also not part of the police for the past two and a half years.
How do you assess him as a Chief Minister?
I cannot assess. I can only comment on things about which I have had some sort of personal experience. Whenever I have closely interacted with the chief minister, he has been very attentive. When there were important/serious situations, he used to accept my professional suggestions.
Previously, Oommen Chandy too had handled home ministry. How do you rate him?
It was a short period. I was DIG Thrissur then. We would get one-minute appointments with him because he is surrounded by people all the time. But he will grasp everything within that short time.
How was your relationship with former CM VS Achuthanandan?
I used to brief him on very important matters. I did not meet him on a regular basis. Only two or three times I met him. He would give a patient audience.
Have you ever discussed matters related to policing with CPM party leaders? Because decisions on policing are first discussed by the party when LDF is in power.
Never. I have not briefed anyone in the party. But I have talked with party leaders when the need arose. That is on a personal level... not about policing.
K Karunakaran and Pinarayi Vijayan are two chief ministers who took a favourable stance towards police officials...
I was an SP when Karunakaran sir was CM. Times have changed. Policing too has changed drastically. There can be no comparison. You can nowadays track criminals using CCTV visuals and their location. In the past, if we questioned a criminal in an appropriate manner, he would respond. But these days, even if we confront a criminal with forensic evidence, he would still deny the crime.
You were assigned the high-profile Jisha murder case. CM seemed to have faith in you.
He might have felt that I’m fit to investigate and find out the truth. Police officers do not give any special consideration to cases followed by the media. All cases are equal for police officers.
In the Jisha murder case, you caught the culprit. Still, there was a lot of criticism against you. Did those criticisms dishearten you?
You might know better (about the criticisms). the case is sub-judice and I don’t want to comment. But on hearing those criticisms, of course, I was hurt. But I brushed them off as an occupational hazard.
There were similar allegations in the actress abuse case as well…
Could be. I don’t want to discuss that case too because it is sub-judice. Those who raised the allegations were aware that they were false. Why should I
bother about them?
The actress abuse case was a high-profile one closely followed by the media. How did you handle that situation?
Police cannot play to the gallery. In such cases, TV cameras would follow us everywhere. We do not have time to follow the media. We cannot succumb to pressure.
Investigation officers are unsung heroes often. Often we see high-ranking officers taking the credit for investigations done by junior officers. How do you view it?
A case investigation is team work. There could be 25 persons in a case investigation. When I was ASP, there was a murder case in Sholayur. Several teams were deployed to nab the culprit. He was arrested by a head constable. I recorded his name as the person who arrested the culprit. He later cried in front of me saying that it was for the first time that he got credit for an arrest. I used to give credit to the exact person in every case.
Who was the police chief who supported you the most?
In the beginning, it was Rajgopal Narayan sir. He sent me to Kannur for training and later posted me at Shoranur. He was thoroughly professional and would give crisp advice. Jacob Punnoose supported me a lot. Kodiyeri Balakrishnan was the Home Minister then. That was a good combo.
Was Punnoose the best DGP in your career?
I say that name because I got the opportunity to work with him. He is the best that I have worked with. The timing should also be noted. I was in the range and was part of the team that worked on the Police Act and community policing. That doesn’t mean others were bad. So many people supported me. Joseph Sir, Sasthri Sir, Chali Sir, Radhakrishnan Sir.
How do you view the harsh punishment against IG P Vijayan?
I did not study that incident. P Vijayan is an officer known to me. He has worked with me. I don’t have any bad opinion about him. But I do not wish to comment on this particular development as I am not aware of the reasons behind it.
Isn’t such a harsh punishment against senior officers unusual?
Normally, it won’t happen.
Why doesn’t the IPS association take up such issues seriously? The IAS officers association seems to have more unity.
I don’t know whether the IPS association discussed this issue. They did not call me for any meeting. It is true that IPS officers lack unity when compared to IAS officers. Maybe because IPS officers do not have much time to socialise and network.
Or, is it due to internal politics among IPS officers?
I don’t know. There could be that. But I’m not part of any politics. I’m against IPS officers doing any type of politicking. It is bad. IPS is a class apart. It is there to lead from the front.
Cases related to custodial deaths and police atrocities have become more frequent. Is there an increase in the criminalisation of police?
Criminalisation is increasing in Kerala society also. Its reflection can be seen in the police as well. Without any data, I cannot say that criminalisation in the police is increasing. But the mindset of people, in general, has definitely changed.
What was the turbulent phase in your career?
Wherever I worked, I had turbulent phases. People usually think postings outside the law and order are peaceful. But they are not. I could not find a phase where it was very peaceful. All I can say is no phase was simple to handle.
Was IPS your aim while appearing for the civil services examination?
I tried for IAS. But when I joined IPS I felt it was the most suitable profession for me.
You write poems. How do you manage to do that despite your hectic schedule?
I write when I feel like it. That is at midnight, not on all days. I started writing at the age of 10.
What is your future plan?
I’ve not decided now. I’ve some personal things to do that I’d postponed due to official duties.
Are you aiming for any post after retirement?
I’ve not planned anything. It has been only two-three days. I need a break to think about the future.