Thiruvananthpuram: The government on Thursday appointed additional director general of police (ADGP) Anil Kant as director, Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau (VACB).
The order was issued on Thursday appointing Mr Kant in the vacancy that arose following the retirement of B.L. Mohammad Yasin. The new director will take charge on Friday.
The 1986 batch officer Mohammad Yasin who was vigilance director for eight months, retired on Thursday and was given demoniacal send off. The officer who belongs to Andhra Pradesh attained super annuation after 33 years of service.
Chennithala slams police appointment
The Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala slammed changes in police department saying the posting of a junior officer in vigilance cadre post will weaken the department besides destroying the efficacy of the agency. The other changes made by the government in police hierarchy would do more harm than good, he opined.
He said those who criticised the posting of N. Shankar Reddy who was then ADGP as vigilance director during UDF government’s tenure, have now appointed the charge of vigilance to a junior ADGP rank officer.
“I fail to understand when the state police chief has full charge of law, why is the responsibility being entrusted to an ADGP rank officer under him. Earlier, law and order was maintained effectively under the zonal ADGPs. In the event of any problem, they were able to intervene directly and resolve the issues. But after the latest decision, police officers will have to come all the way to police headquarters to seek ADGP’s assistance in resolving serious law and order issues at the zonal level. This will not do any good to the police department,” he said.
Mr Chennithala said the decision to reduce the number of IGs cannot be accepted. This will only lead to worsening of law and order. The government should withdraw the decision at the earliest, he said.
The Cabinet on Wednesday had decided to reorganise the police structure in state by doing away with the current system of zonal ADGPs. Law and order for entire state was entrusted with an ADGP level officer who will be designated as ADGP (operations) in place of the existing system ADGPs for north and south zones respectively.
The zones will come under the IGs and the four ranges under the DIGs..
