Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan arrives for the conference of senior police officers in Kochi on Saturday. | Photo Credit: Thulasi Kakkat more-in Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday addressed a closed-door meeting of senior officials from all the police districts under the Ernakulam Range Inspector General of Police. Raman Srivasthava, Adviser to the Chief Minister on police; State Police Chief Loknath Behra; Intelligence DGP B.S. Mohammed Yasin; ADGP B.Sandhya; and Inspector General of Police (Kochi range) P.Vijayan took part in the meeting, which lasted nearly two-and-a-half hours. Addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister urged the officers to take an unbiased stand while dealing with cases of political or communal clashes, sources said. He also asked the officers to be cautious and ensure due diligence while invoking special laws such as the Kerala Anti-Social Activities Prevention Act (KAAPA) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). ‘Go by urgency’ Mr. Vijayan asked the officers to use the provisions of UAPA only in cases of urgency and that too by keeping the district police chiefs concerned in the loop. The rising number of drug abuse cases and the steps to prevent goonda menace also came up for discussion. Earlier, Director General of Police Loknath Behra said he was awaiting the State government’s decision on replacing him as the State Police Chief. “It is the duty of the government to check the technical aspects of the Supreme Court verdict, and I too am waiting for the government’s order,” he said.

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