Home Minister Rejects Right-Wing Claims on Drug Arrests in Muslim-Majority District
The minister also cautioned against interpreting higher arrest or case figures as an indication that a particular district had a greater drug problem
Thiruvananthapuram: Keralam Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala has said the objective of the anti-drug drive 'Operation Toofan' was not to top arrest charts but to identify drug sources, break supply networks and make the state safer.
He said this while disputing reports in a right-wing media that Muslim-dominated Malappuram had recorded the highest number of arrests.
In a series of posts on X on Saturday evening, Chennithala pointed out that Kerala Police administers some geographical districts through separate City and Rural police districts. If these units are shown separately while Malappuram is counted as a single district, the comparison would not be uniform, he said.
"When City and Rural police figures are combined for a geographical comparison: Ernakulam - 1,393 arrests, Kozhikode - 1,373, Malappuram - 999," Chennithala said.
Kozhikode also recorded the highest number of cases at 1,327, he said.
The minister also cautioned against interpreting higher arrest or case figures as an indication that a particular district had a greater drug problem.
"More arrests do not mean worse people. More cases do not mean a worse district," he said.
The figures, he added, also reflected police detection, enforcement and citizens coming forward with information.
"They are records of action - not certificates of character," Chennithala said.
He said district rankings were not the purpose of Operation Toofan, which is aimed at identifying drug sources and sellers, disrupting supply chains and preventing narcotics from reaching young people.
"Arrests measure enforcement. Breaking the network is the real objective," he said.
According to the minister, Operation Toofan has so far resulted in 10,015 arrests and 9,280 cases across the state.
Besides enforcement, 9,147 awareness classes and 6,561 programmes through School and College Protection Groups have also been conducted.
"Our approach is clear. Where there is crime, we will act without fear or favour. Where there is prejudice, we will answer with facts," Chennithala said.
He said the operation would continue across the state, with the focus on following evidence, identifying sources and breaking networks involved in the drug trade.
"Our goal is not to top arrest charts. Our goal is to make Kerala safer from drugs," he said.
