Law and order in Kochi

The incident of obstructing the movement of the pilot vehicle of Kerala High Court Chief Justice S Manikumar cannot be seen as an isolated one. A week before, a 19-year-old model was gangraped by three men in a moving car. Many hotels in Kochi have become hubs for sale of drugs and distribution. When such isolated incidents are repeated, we say that the law and order has been deteriorated. This should be seen as a lapse from the side of the police. There is no point in punishing people in the lower ranks of the police department. Action should be first taken against the VIPs leading the police system in the district in the incident of obstructing the movement of Chief Justice’s vehicle.

Mafia groups and anti-social elements get the courage to show anything when they feel that the city police are not headed by a commissioner with a backbone. The

government should not take into face value the explanation of the police, who are trying to mitigate the problem by saying that the car was stopped only because he was drunk. If so, the next would be a more serious law and order issue. It is a serious lapse on the side of the police for not being able to subdue him even after chasing him from Goshree Bridge and not stopping the accused on a bike for obstructing the pilot vehicle of the Chief Justice after shouting 'This is Kerala and not Tamil Nadu'.

When the police continuously fail in preventing the criminal activities seen now and then, these youths make such challenges. The youth got provoked when the Chief Justice' car overtook his vehicle at Cheranalloor on Sunday night. Many such violent incidents are happening in Kerala in the name of overtaking. There should be specific legal action against people who cause such violence and law and order problems on the road, without looking at their faces. If the ruling party intervenes, the mafias will get the impression that no police chief will question it, and this will ruin the lives of the people. The home department should be ready for a major reshuffle of the police top brass in Kochi before law and order deteriorates further.