The newly posted Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) for north Kerala, Sheikh Darvesh Saheb, is yet to take up his assignment as he has not been relieved from the Crime Branch.
Last week, the Cabinet decided to appoint Mr. Saheb, an officer of the 1990 IPS batch, as the post was lying vacant for a year. The posting by the State government came ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in Kerala slated for April 23.
Some administrative procedures, Home Department sources said, was delaying the relieving order. Besides, no officer has also been posted to head the Crime Branch. Another senior officer, T.K. Vinod Kumar who has been posted as ADGP ( Intelligence) has been asked to take up the additional charge of the Crime Branch Department.
Mr. Saheb was to join duty this Monday as he had received the orders last Wednesday. With the model code of conduct coming into effect after the Election Commission of India announced the dates of polls, new postings are unlikely to be cancelled. Further, all posting and the actions of IPS officers are being monitored.
The government, it is learnt, was forced to make the appointment with the looming general elections. Incidentally, the posting came when the Home Department was planning to abolish the post of ADGP, and instead revert the post to the rank of Inspector General of Police (IGP). This would also have created more problems as two ranges — Kannur and Thrissur — which functioned under the North Zone should have officers of the rank of IGP.
Daunting task
Sources said that the new ADGP has a daunting task at hand with frequent reports of political violence from north Kerala. This would be more precarious before and after the Lok Sabha elections as the districts in Kannur range are either communally or politically volatile.
The murder of two Youth Congress workers – Kripesh and Sarath Lal – at Periya in Kasaragod has ignited a political unrest in that district. Both Kannur and Kozhikode rural districts are politically sensitive. Another challenge is the Left-wing extremism in Wayanad district.
