The Kerala government has named Director General of Police (DGP) Ravada A Chandrasekhar, who is on central deputation, as the new state police chief.
The Kerala cabinet which met virtually on Monday under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, decided to appoint DGP Ravada A. Chandrasekhar as the new State Police Chief. This ends weeks of speculation over the successor to incumbent State Police Chief Shaik Darvesh Saheb, who retired on Monday.
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Ravada had been on a central deputation for the past 11 years. Ravada was selected from a list of three senior IPS officers recommended by the Union Public Service Commission. Road Safety Commissioner Nitin Agarwal, Ravada Chandrasekhar and Fire and Rescue Services Director General Yogesh Gupta were the three senior IPS officers who featured in the UPSC shortlist.
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Ravada will be the 41st police chief of Kerala. As per Supreme Court guidelines, Ravada will be able to enjoy a two-year tenure as police chief.
An officer of the 1991 IPS batch, Ravada was a special director with the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and was offered the post of Secretary (Security) in the Cabinet Secretariat from August. However, Ravada formally and through informal channels informed the state government that he was willing to return to the state.
The appointment of Ravada Chandrasekhar was not an easy task for the CPI-M-led LDF government because of his alleged involvement in the infamous Koothuparamba firing of 1994.
On November 25, 1994, barely two days after he was transferred from Hyderabad and posted as Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) in Kannur, Ravada Chandrasekhar oversaw a police operation that escalated into one of the deadliest instances of political violence in modern Kerala.
The incident occurred at Koothuparamba in Kannur district , where thousands of DYFI activists blocked the convoy of Cooperation and Ports Minister M V Raghavan, protesting the UDF government’s self- financing education policy. Raghavan, popularly known as MVR, was once a senior CPI-M leader who had later broken away from the party.
When tear gas and lathi-charge failed to disperse the protesters, police opened fire in two rounds.Five DYFI activists—KK Rajeevan, KV Roshan, Madhu, Shibulal, and Babu—were killed, and six others seriously. DYFI activist Pushpan, who was bedridden following the incident, died last year. In 2012, Kerala High Court quashed cases against police officers, including Ravada.
Soon after the announcement of Ravada’s appointment, senior CPI-M leader P Jayarajan came out expressing his displeasure over the decision. Jayarajan said that CPI-M and DYFI had taken stands against both Ravada and Nitin. Jayarajan added that the Koothuparamba firing happened within a few days after Ravada took charge as ACP in Thalassery.
He said that Nitin was accused of custodial torture of incumbent Koothuparamba CPI-M local secretary M Sukumaran. However, CPI-M state secretary MV Govindan justified the decision, saying that the selection was made from a list given by the Union government. Govindan said that Ravada had joined as ACP only two days ahead of the incident.
“An investigative report had acquitted him of the charges,” he said.
Meanwhile, it has been reported Rawada Chandrashekhar will take charge as the state police chief on Tuesday morning .He has been relieved from the central service. The Union Home Ministry has issued an order in this regard.
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