KOZHIKODE: It was conceived as a project to make people aware of the history and growth of the police force in Malabar. But two years down the line, the proposal to set up a police museum here, the first-of-its-kind in North Kerala, is still in limbo.
The proposal had gathered momentum when Uma Behera was the City Police Commissioner. At the time, many people had voluntarily come forward to donate articles of historic importance.
One such person was P V Lakshmanan, who decided to donate an ornamental medal proudly worn by his grandfather as a head constable in Malabar during the British rule in 1886. In April, 2016, Lakshmanan had also handed over a General Diary (GD) maintained by his grandfather at the Kalpakancherry police station where the latter served and a red belt he used to wear, to the then City Police Commissioner.
The other items Lakshmanan offered included a correspondence between his grandfather and the Madras Governor routed through the IG of Madras and the Police Superintendent of South Malabar, seeking rectification of anomalies related to his pension.
Bava Renjith, a collector of archive material and Sudheesh, son of a retired police officer, also contributed valuable materials for the proposed museum. The project was to be implemented under the supervision of the District Crime Records Bureau.
With the proposal of setting up the museum making no headway, Lakshmanan met City Police Commissioner Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar the past week and requested his intervention in making the project a reality.
“Though the police told me two years ago they would contact me to collect the crown and the flap on my grandfather's cap, they did not do so. There has been no contact since,” Lakshmanan said.
Kumar told 'Express' he has sought the files related to the project. “If some preliminary work was done in the initial stages, it would have been on the basis of a project report. We will examine the report, see what the roadblocks were and get it cleared,” he said.
Uma Behera, who is now with the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, could not be reached for comments.