Thiruvananthapuram, June 30 In a specially convened online cabinet meeting on Monday morning, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan approved the appointment of Ravadha Chandrasekhar as the new State Police Chief (SPC).
A 1991 batch IPS officer hailing from Andhra Pradesh, Chandrasekhar has been on central deputation for the past 15 years, currently serving in a key post at the Intelligence Bureau in Delhi.
His recent meeting with Chief Minister Vijayan earlier this month had triggered speculation about his return to Kerala, which now stands confirmed.
Interestingly, Chandrasekhar had once aspired to become a doctor, but under his agriculturist father's guidance, he pursued a career in civil services.
After studying agriculture, he cleared the civil services exam and began his policing career as an Assistant Superintendent of Police in Thalassery, Kannur.
His early years in the force were marked by controversy. In 1994, while serving in Kannur, he led a police operation at Kuthuparambu to disperse a protest by DYFI -- the youth wing of the CPI(M).
The firing resulted in the deaths of five DYFI activists who were demonstrating against then state Minister M.V. Raghavan. The incident left a lasting impact on Kerala’s political discourse, especially given Raghavan's tumultuous relationship with the CPI(M).
Raghavan, once a prominent CPI(M) leader and mentor to the present Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, was expelled from the party in 1985 after attempting to forge ties with the Indian Union Muslim League and Kerala Congress.
He subsequently founded his own party and aligned with the Congress-led UDF. Since then, the CPI(M) has consistently invoked the Kuthuparambu firing to rally its base and target the Congress, particularly the K. Karunakaran-led government that was in power at the time.
On his appointment, Chandrasekhar expressed delight and said he was honoured to take over the role. With a year left before retirement, he now becomes the top cop in the state, superseding Nithin Agarwal, who is the seniormost IPS officer in Kerala.
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