The Thiruvananthapuram City police have effected a significant change in its functioning by redeploying the personnel attached to the shadow police wing to various police stations.
While senior police officials have maintained that the unit has not been disbanded, some claim that the move was necessitated after it was found to be largely inactive of late.
The arrangement is also said to be part of the efforts being undertaken by the Kerala Police to optimise the use of its available resources to strengthen local police stations.
Transfer orders
As many as 26 personnel who were part of the shadow police team were issued transfer orders by District Police Chief (Thiruvananthapuram City) M.R. Ajith Kumar a day ago. They have been posted to 22 police stations within the city police limits and directed to report at the earliest.
The internal restructuring of the City police force is apparently being undertaken to reduce stagnancy in its operations and boost the activities of the police stations. Besides becoming part of crime investigations, the personnel will also be required to assist in traffic regulation whenever the need arose.
The shadow police personnel used to report to the District Police Headquarters and had come under specialised wings of the City police including the Control Room, Special Branch, and Crime Branch. With the new arrangement coming into effect, they will henceforth report to the inspector station house officers.
Official sources said many of those transferred were part of the same wing for around five years. They also claim that the shadow police wing could be reassembled in the future if found necessary.
The move is also believed to be to overcome an excessive reliance on the shadow police team in solving crimes that were reported at various stations.
The City shadow police team has been instrumental in cracking several cases. They have been credited with assisting covert operations in far-flung areas including the naxal-affected regions of East Godavari in Andhra Pradesh to apprehend the kingpins of drug rackets.
