THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The police department and the district administration will deploy senior officers to deal with the detention requests of habitual offenders under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act (KAAPA). The decision was taken during a meeting Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had with senior police officers on Monday.
According to the decision, a deputy collector will supervise the detention requests that reach the collectorate from the police department. The rules stipulate that district collectors, on account of being executive magistrates, should go through the requests from the district police chiefs and issue the detention orders, if the situation warrants.
The move comes in the wake of a rise in violent criminal cases involving habitual offenders. In several cases, the police had alleged that the collectors sat on their detention requests, which emboldened the suspects to mount violent attacks.
The district police chief’s office too will see a senior officer of the rank of DySP, or above, being appointed specifically to deal with the KAAPA detention requests. The senior officer will act as a nodal officer and liaison with the collectorate on the issue.
The government, meanwhile, has decided to set a time frame for the collectors to decide on such requests. The chief secretary, collectors and district police chiefs will review the matters pertaining to KAAPA detention every six months, as per the decision.
The meeting, which lasted 45 minutes, was attended by DGP Anil Kant and ADGPs from the law and order, headquarters and crime branch wings.