Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday told the Assembly that the government would raise a special unit to combat cybercrime.
Participating in the discussion and voting on demands for grants for Police and Jails, Mr. Vijayan said the proposed unit would be named Cybercrime Branch.
Women representation in the police was woefully low, a mere 6 per cent, and it would be increased to 10 per cent. Forest tribes and fisherfolk would be specially recruited into the force.
He said that night-time traffic enforcement will be upped and special care would be provided for mentally ill prisoners.
Police stations reckoned to be potential targets for terrorists would be fortified. The Fire and Rescue Services Department would be equipped with modern equipment to fight fires in high rises. Government doctors would visit jails weekly.
The government has insulated the police from extraneous influence, political or otherwise. But that did not mean the government had untethered them without any check or balance. He strongly disapproved of custodial torture, third degree, criminality and disrespectful behaviour. Law enforcers should consciously steer clear of “bad influences” and convincingly so in public eye. Supervisory officers who avoided their responsibilities would be held accountable.
On George
The Chief Minister, who spoke in his characteristic firm tone, struck a lighter pitch when he remarked that P. C. George, the sole person in the Opposition benches during the discussion, had always been “good in his mind.”
Mr. George, an acerbic critic of Mr. Vijayan, had earlier commented that the Chief Minister behaved like a party apparatchik in the House. The House passed the motion.
