THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government will reimburse all the medical expenses of 64 police officers who sustained injuries during the mob attack at Vizhinjam in connection with the anti-sea port protest held last November.
The expenses incurred while undergoing treatment at private hospitals will also be reimbursed. Usually, the injured cops are given assistance from the Police Welfare Bureau. In case of reimbursement, only the claims of the treatments given in government hospitals, including medical college hospitals, are normally allowed. If the injury is serious in nature and the person has to be admitted to private hospitals, then reimbursement claims are considered only if the government doctor who treated the patient gives in writing that such treatment is not available in government hospitals.
In the case of the officers injured in the Vizhinjam attack, the state police chief had written to the government the need to reimburse the expenses without any hurdles. The police chief had requested that the expenses incurred for treatment in private hospitals should also be reimbursed as it was important to keep up the spirit and morale of the cops, who had strived hard to restore peace in Vizhinjam.
The government has also decided that the reimbursement claims of the police officers need not be vetted by the health department director or the district medical officer. This directive will help the cops get a full reimbursement of their expenses without any cuts.
The officers came under attack on November 27, 2022, when the protest against Vizhinjam port was at its zenith. Apart from injuries to cops, public property worth Rs 85 lakh was damaged during the violence unleashed by the protesters, who mostly belonged to the Latin Catholic church.
The whole episode of violence was precipitated after five fishermen were detained by the police in another case. Following this, the protestors laid siege to the Vizhinjam police station and entered into a violent showdown with the cops, who were easily outnumbered as men and women from the nearby fishing hamlets thronged the place. Of the 64 police officers, five were severely injured.