Loknath Behera draws flak at CPM meet

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The criticism against the government on its handling of the police department got reflected at the recently held CPM state secretariat meeting where leaders placed before Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan the series of lapses on the part of the state police and its chief Loknath Behera. The Chief Minister remained silent throughout the meeting when Mr Behera was being criticised by his party colleagues, CPM sources said.

The CPM secretariat meeting saw majority of the leaders commending positively on the LDF government's governance record but they pointed out that several of the state police chief's actions gave it a "tainted' image.

It is understood that senior leader Anathalavattom Anandan raised the issue first which was seconded by M.V. Govindan Master. "These two leaders opined that if not for the police atrocities, the people would not have criticised the LDF government. They were highly critical of Mr Behera's actions ever since he was appointed by the LDF government," said a CPM source.

The two leaders were highly critical of the way the police handled the issue of IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman's drunken driving killing journalist K. M. Basheer in the state capital.

It may be recalled that CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had mentioned the way people brought to his notice police atrocities during the door-to-door meetings following the Lok Sabha elections.

For long, the opposition has been targeting the state police and its chief for custodial deaths and police atrocities but the government has never acted on them, irking the opposition further.

The latest in the series was the saction given to Mr Behera to prosecute KPCC president Mullapally Ramacha-ndran for his criticism of the state police chief during the Lok Sabha poll campaign.