After dilly-dallying with the appointment of a full-time Additional Director-General of Police (ADGP) for north Kerala for almost a year, the State government has chosen senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Sheikh Darvesh Saheb for the post ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
Mr. Saheb, an officer of the 1990 batch from Cudappah district in Andhra Pradesh, has been holding the post of ADGP (Crime Branch). Previously, he was ADGP (Vigilance).
“I have received the order of my posting. I will join duty next week,” Mr. Saheb told The Hindu on Thursday.
His appointment comes at a time when there are frequent reports of political violence from Malabar, and the Home Department has been drawing flak for the delay in appointing the ADGP. With the Lok Sabha polls approaching, the situation has become more serious as north Kerala districts are either communally or politically sensitive. The murder of two Youth Congress workers at Periya in Kasaragod has already fuelled an emotionally charged political campaign.
And now on Wednesday, a suspected Maoist leader was killed during an encounter by the Thunderbolt wing of the police at a resort in Wayanad amid reports of active Left-wing extremism in the district.
Though Mr. Saheb has not held a major post in the Malabar region, he is not unfamiliar with the scenario there either.
He was Superintendent of Police in Palakkad, Kannur, Kasaragod, and Wayanad. He also had a stint as Inspector General of Police, Thrissur Range, under the ADGP (North Zone).
