KOCHI: The Kerala Police Association has submitted letters to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and state police chief against Kochi Metro Rail Ltd which complained of ticketless travel by cops in metro trains. In the letter, the KPA has demanded that duty passes be issued to all the State Industrial Security Force (SISF) personnel who have been deputed to guard Metro stations.
The allegations made by KMRL on the free ride by cops have defamed the entire police force in the state, the association said. KMRL should have displayed “responsibility and checked facts before making such defamatory statements”. “The over 160 traffic policemen deployed near Metro stations have not been given any basic facilities,” said KPA general secretary G.R. Ajith Kumar. “The 138 SISF personnel on duty in Metro stations had no other option but to depend on metro trains to travel between stations as part of their duty. They are not given any vehicles to commute between stations,” he added.
The KPA also registered a strong protest against circulating the “baseless complaint” through the formal as well as social media. KMRL had submitted complaints with the Ernakulam Range IG against the free ride taken by policemen in Metro trains and insisted that SISF personnel must purchase tickets for travelling in the metro, also mentioning that it was the norm in all other metro rail systems in the country.
