Kochi city police commissioner has, on Thursday, claimed that drug addiction was growing in Kerala and the children of police officers are not immune from the menace.
Speaking at a meeting organised by the Kerala Police Officers’ Association (KPOA) at Angamaly near Kochi, Police Commissioner K Sethuraman said drug use is rampant among the youth in the state. Narrating a shocking case, he recounted how the family of a superintendent of police (SP) was pushed into a crisis as both his sons became drug addicts.
Sethuraman asked police personnel to keep a strict vigil on the drug menace and find out why this is happening even in the police quarters.
“While we are part of the police community, we have no clue why and how our children are falling prey to drugs. Police officials should find a way out of this menace,” he said.
“There are instances where children of policemen of all ranks are addicted to drugs. Two sons of SP are addicted to drugs. The family itself is in trouble. This needs to be taken very seriously,” the Kochi City police commissioner said.
He cited an incident where the son of a police officer was killed in Thiruvananthapuram. He turned out to be a drug addict.
He said while the use of cannabis and MDAA is increasing in Kerala, the silver lining is that the state’s average drug use is still way below the national figure. “The national average of people using some form of drugs is 2.5 per cent whereas it is only 1.2 per cent in Kerala. However, the rate is likely to rise fast,” Sethuraman said.