Thiruvananthapuram proves risky for cops

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Vishwa Kumar, a civil police official with Poojapura station,  who went to a beer parlour at Thirumala on Sunday night, based on a tip-off about a drunken brawl,ended up getting a beer bottle broken over his head.= Apparently, on seeing khaki, the drunken youth broke a beer bottle on the head of the police officer and then hit him on the chest with it.  The bleeding officer was taken to hospital and is recuperating from his injuries at home.  

This is not an isolated case. As per State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB), 68 policemen in Thiruvanantha-puram city and 37 in rural area were injured between January 2015 and January 2016. As per conservative estimates, not less than 50 cops get injured in the district while on duty, annually. Apart from injuries, suspects damage station vehicles also. For instance, a rape accused broke the station vehicle at Maranalloor station last week and roughed up policemen.  "Most of these issues are caused by drunken guys who do not spare laymen or police officers," said Poojapura SI J. Rakesh.

In most cases, the suspects are either able-bodied, drunken or have political backing. SI Rakesh himself was a victim when he was hit on his head with a wooden log during his tenure at Pothencode in 2014. He used to vomit incessantly due to head trauma and had to be hospitalised. "Some serial offenders always use violent force during attempts to arrest them. Last year, Karate Johnny, a fifth black-belt holder roughed up and stabbed three cops. It took a dozen men to catch him and all of them were physically challenged," said a shadow police official. Senior officials said that the number was slightly high in Thiruvananthapuram city especially during budget sessions because political parties unleash violence.