Kannur: Known for his no-nonsense approach, outgoing Kannur district police chief Sanjay Kumar Gurudin carved a space of his own, that his transfer got more attention than the rest.
While nearly 12 of the SPs in the state got relocated, it was his name that made the headlines, not to mention the political importance behind the move. It was easy for the government to transfer a man who had become a thorn in the flesh and cite it as a routine transfer.
His posting in Kannur was the most controversial and the displeasure came from the CPM itself. However, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan could hold back the party for some time, giving the police an independent hand in dealing with issues, especially political crimes. On many occasions, the party and the police chief locked horns and the situation was a prestige issue for the comrades in the red citadel.
Mr Gurudin’s transfer at the time of the total shuffle is a face saver for the CM in his home district, where he has begun losing traction and district secretary P. Jayarajan is getting the upper hand. At the same time, the transfer of a district police chief who worked above the interests of the political leadership but got kudos from the public, could be passed off as a routine transfer.
He could cleanse the district’s traffic system to a great extent with projects like 24-hour crackdown bringing fatal accidents down. Mr Gurudin also penned a book ‘Is Your Child Safe?’ on cyber security, the content of which was included in SCERT syllabus in class 9th and 10th. He was among the experts who wrote IT textbooks for class 9 and 10.
A graduate in mechanical engineering and IPS officer of 2005 batch, Mr Gurudin joined the service as ASP under training in Kollam. Later, he worked as ASP Punalur, and was promoted and posted as SP Kollam. Later, he was transferred and posted as SP Pathana-mthitta and was in charge of Kasargod during the last assembly elections. Prior to his deputation in the NIA, he was AIG -1 in the police headquarters. He was instrumental in setting up the Lucknow branch office. After returning to Kerala, his first posting was in Thiruvananthapuram as DCP.
