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5.01 The
Kerala Police Performance and Accountability Commission was
appointed at the initiative of A.K. Antony, former Chief
Minister of Kerala. The Commission could commence its work
without any loss of time due to the enthusiastic support
which was continuously provided by the Chief Minister.
Oommen Chandy, who succeeded A.K Antony, continued the
support with the very same enthusiasm and understanding and
that is why the Commission is able to complete its work
within the appointed time. The support offered by N.
Ramakrishnan, Home Secretary should also be mentioned in
this connection.
5.02 The Commission places on record its appreciation of the
service rendered by P.K. Hormis Tharakan, then Director
General of Police, Kerala who was in that position at the
commencement of the work of the Commission. He rendered
solid support and assistance by sharing with the Commission
his ideas about the various issues to be dealt with. Under
his direction all the officers and men down the line
supported the Commission in its endeavour with undiluted
enthusiasm. The Superintendents of Police/Commissioners of
police helped the Commission to make the sittings held at
the District Headquarters useful. The DGP had also issued an
Executive Directive to all the officers and men permitting
them to freely discuss their views with the Commission on
the terms of reference. This gave a positive impact on them
as could be seen by the large number of officers and men who
actively participated in the discussions held at District
Headquarters. Selected serving and retired IAS and IPS
officers whom the Commission chose to contact offered their
assistance by expressing their valuable views on the terms
of reference. People from different walks of life from
retired High Court Judges to local Panchayat Members also
helped the Commission in sharing their experiences and
views. Raman Srivastava, who succeeded Hormis Tharakan at
the fag end of the term of the Commission also rendered very
helpful attitude as well as valuable suggestions.
5.03 The Commission is unable to conceal its disappointment
at the poor response from the political parties, Members of
Legislature and the office bearers of the three-tier
Panchayats. It was interesting to note that even in the
Districts where the sittings of the Commission were preceded
`by police marches’ organized by prominent political parties
against the alleged atrocities of the police (not a planned
coincidence) there was no response from any of those
organizations to the Commission’s call.
5.04 The Commission had the benefit of the views of some of
the retired Judges of the High Court and also of the retired
and serving IAS and IPS officers. The Commission was
impressed by their readiness to convey their suggestions
sprouted from their experience. Even though the Commission
had occasion to peruse the reports of various
Commissions/Committees on police reforms at the National and
State level, it has not chosen to dwell extensively upon
their recommendations as generally the implementation of
those recommendations has not been inspiring. Instead, the
focus of the Commission has been on pragmatic issues
confronting the police and people in their day-to-day
interaction. It is the fervent hope of the Commission that
Government will consider the observations, conclusions and
recommendations of the Commission seriously and try to
implement them.
5.05 The Commission places on record its profound
appreciation for the remarkable assistance rendered in its
task by Shri M. Nazimuddin, Secretary to the Commission. He
spent many hours even far beyond the office time to make the
work of the Commission effective. His assistance deserves
unreserved admiration.
5.06 Shri S.R. Kishore, Office Secretary and other
supporting staff both in the Commission’s office at Kottayam
and the Members’ office at Thiruvananthapuram also rendered
very useful assistance through their service. |
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