The Hindu : Implement police panel report: DGP

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Feb 14, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Implement police panel report: DGP

By Our Staff Reporter

THRISSUR, FEB. 13. The Director General of Police (DGP), P.K. Hormese Tharakan, has dismissed the criticisms against the National Police Commission Report and said its implementation will only make the police force more accountable.

Inaugurating a mass contact programme of the district police, organised in association with the district panchayat here today, Mr. Tharakan said there were many even within the force who were under the impression that the National Police Commission, headed by Dharamveera, had only given suggestions for freeing the police force from the control of those in power.

However, there are also suggestions in the report to make the police force more accountable like the constitution of a State Security Commission to monitor the functioning of the police.

But unfortunately no State had so far implemented the report, and it was only Kerala that had made some efforts during the last two years in that direction, Mr. Tharakan said.

He said it was not correct to say that the police were being given unbridled freedom in the State. In fact, we are only trying to create an atmosphere conducive for the police force to function without external interference, the DGP said.

According to Mr. Tharakan the reforms that were being introduced in the police force in Kerala had started gaining national acclaim. In the just concluded national conference on police in New Delhi, other than the host State only Kerala Police was given an opportunity to speak.

The conference was organised by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, and there were many active enquiries about the police reforms in Kerala, he said.

The DGP also released a booklet brought out by the district police containing the suggestions for better people-police cooperation in preventing crime and maintaining law and order.

Dr. Alexander Jacob and Mr. Janardanan Nair who won the President's awards were felicitated on the occasion.

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