Kochi Metro police to make passenger screening stricter

KOCHI: In the wake of inputs that drug peddlers are using metro for transporting ganja, Kochi Metro Police Station has decided to make the screening of passengers stricter. It was in February 2019 that the metro police station was launched with 24 police personnel as staff including eight women. The crime stats with Metro Police Station show that of the only five cases registered in the station so far, three were Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) cases and the accused were all in the age group of 18 to 25. However, all accused were carrying only a meagre quantity of ganja.

Metro Police Station Circle Inspector A Ananthalal said the metro stations and trains have been put under high-security surveillance. “Police were able to recover the ganja from the accused during regular frisking at the entry points to the stations. We will be putting in place stringent checking to detect more cases. We will be seeking approval from the higher-ups and Metro authorities for the same,” he said. 

Other crimes registered 
The first case was registered right after the launch of the metro police station. A man accused of stabbing another person in a bar was trying to escape in a metro train with the blood-stained knife. He was caught by Metro police and handed over to Aluva police. In another one, a 22-year-old from Alappuzha was arrested for an alleged attempt to peep into a women’s toilet at the MG Road station.