No law to protect police officers

Thiruvananthapuram: Even as politicians continue to threaten police officers publicly, a proposal mooted by the police to bring in a piece of legislation for legal action against the police officers is gathering dust.

The proposal came after the threat raised by CPM top leaders against the police team that probed the murder of T.P. Chandrasekharan.

CPM leader M. V. Jayarajan, who was among those who threatened the officers, is now the private secretary to the chief minister.

Hence the proposal is unlikely to get a revival soon, sources said. BJP state general secretary K. Surendran was the latest to raise a threat against police officers.

On Saturday, he threatened Kannur DySP K. Sadanandan and Thalassery DySP Prince Abraham alleging that they forced RSS worker E. Subeesh to give a confessional statement that he and three others killed NDF worker Muhammed Fazal. Mr Surendran warned that the cops would lose their power once they were out of service and would be like ordinary citizens.

The police department had proposed the inclusion of a provision in Indian Penal Code or Kerala Police Act to make even supposedly threat against police officers an offence.

"At present obstruction of police officials from discharging their duties could be held liable. Hence it was proposed that even a supposedly threat against police officials should be made an offence," said an IPS officer.

The proposal was submitted while Mr Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan was the home minister in the previous Oommen Chandy government. However, Mr Ramesh Chennithala who succeeded Mr Radhakrishnan also preferred not to take the proposal forward.

Police sources said that the proposal is unlikely to get revived under the present LDF government also as those who used to raise such threats are now at the helm of affairs.