THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At a time when serious questions are being asked on the state’s law and order situation and policing following the back-to-back murders in Palakkad, cashews, one might think, would rank the lowest in the priorities of the state police.
But it seems the kidney-shaped nuts are so important that the state police have now deployed some of their men to collect them from the premises of the Kerala Armed Police Battalion IV in Kannur. This, when the state has availed of the service of Tamil Nadu police officers for maintaining peace in Palakkad. The Commandant of KAP IV battalion in Kannur has deployed a sub-inspector and two havildars to collect the fallen cashew nuts. A government order to this effect was issued on Monday.
The order said the battalion is finding it tough to sell cashew nuts despite holding four auctions. No one was ready to submit a bid due to various issues such as reduced availability of nuts, drop in price, culling of trees for national highway development, etc. Hence, three cops have been deployed to collect the nuts that have fallen from the trees and store them safely.
But the ‘farm’ duty has not gone down well with a section of police officers, who felt the department was wasting the manpower by making them do menial jobs. “Making the officers do a job which is not their responsibility is an offence. That too when the state police chief has ordered the officers to maintain caution across the state after the untoward incidents in Palakkad,” said an officer, who is attached with the battalion. The move was also heavily trolled on social media groups being used exclusively by the police personnel.