Even as some parts of Malabar are reeling under political violence, the Home Department is yet to appoint a full-time Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) for north Kerala.
The post has been lying vacant since Rajesh Dewan, who held the rank of Director General of Police (DGP), retired last April. Efforts to appoint a senior IPS officer to the post ended in vain as many of them were either posted in crucial departments or the government found others unsuitable. Besides, the government was not in favour of appointing an officer of the rank of DGP to the post.
Meanwhile, Anil Kant, ADGP, South Zone, has been holding additional charge of north Kerala. Since Mr. Kant is preoccupied with other responsibilities, he rarely visits north Kerala except for high-level meetings. The absence of a full-time ADGP has, in fact, affected the law and order situation in Malabar, a senior official in the Home Department said.
According to a source, the situation is likely to become more precarious with the approaching Lok Sabha polls since north Kerala districts are either communally or politically sensitive. Each district has it own recognisable problem whether it is plain law and order, Left-wing extremism, or communal tensions. Incidentally, many senior IPS officers of ADGP rank do not want to handle north Kerala given the prevailing situation in Malabar, the source said.
Earlier, the government had considered abolishing the post of ADGP and instead reverting the post to the rank of Inspector General of Police (IGP). However, there was a view that two ranges—Kannur and Thrissur—which functioned under the North Zone should have officers of the rank of IGP. A decision to appoint officers of the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in the two ranges also did not work.
Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram ranges, which are under the South Zone AGDP, have good policing though some districts are sensitive. But crimes are more pronounced in Kasaragod, Kannur, and rural Kozhikode along with Palakkad and Malappuram, the source said.
