THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The decision to give good service entry to the policemen who brutally manhandled black flag-waving protesters at the NKS site is jarring and unusual. Normally, good service entry is given for highly skilled investigation, maintenance of law and order in difficult situations, and heroic rescue missions in times of calamity.
The government reward comes at a time when the court has ordered police officials to register a case against CM’s gunman who went rogue and thrashed protesters in an inhumane way. ADGP M.R. Ajithkumar meanwhile has issued an order to reward good service entry to officers even in the rank of CPOs to IGs.
It is alleged that the good service entry is going to be issued to officers, who went against the Police Act, which states that force should not be used against anyone except to fulfil legal purposes, and should deal with the people with courtesy and propriety.
Good service entry is sometimes given to assuage police officials, who might have worked in other districts under toiling conditions without food and water. But now, even top officials within the force have implicitly expressed their disapproval about the government's move to reward police officials who brutally harmed protesters.
It is also unusual that the ADGP in charge of law and order has issued this order. 30,000 policemen were deployed for NKS security. Officers within the police force also doubt that the reward will fall into the wrong hands, maybe to police officials with political influence, rather than officials who might have worked tirelessly to ensure security at the event.