Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will chair a meeting of law enforcers on October 3.
The video conference comes against the backdrop of reports of abusive police behaviour, corruption, criminality, and worrying ethical questions regarding the social conduct and associations of ranking officers.
The public image of the police had arguably taken a beating after photographs and videos of ranking officers socialising with the alleged fake antique dealer and suspected confidence trickster, Mons Mavunkal, went viral on mainstream and social media.
The story of high life and deception had captured the public imagination. It also triggered a negative news cycle that has provided ammunition to the Opposition to target the government when the Assembly convenes for a month-long session on October 4.
Incidents of alleged police high handedness against ordinary citizens had also dominated the news. A video of a policewoman wrongly accusing a Dalit child of mobile phone theft in Attingal had caused public outrage.
Such unsavoury episodes had prompted Mr. Vijayan to remind the police last week that their conduct is a crucial yardstick of governance. The CM is likely to moot stringent ethical oversight of the force at the law and order conference.
Narcotic Jihad issue
The emergence of hardline groups on either side of the religious spectrum in the aftermath of the "narcotic jihad" controversy loomed large in the background and could figure in the meeting.
The government is intent on discouraging Islamophobia. It also wanted to prevent majoritarian right-wing groups from using the controversy to seize the political advantage in Kerala. Countering threats to religious harmony is high on the government's agenda.
Mr. Vijayan had earlier flagged that divisive propaganda and hate speech could empower political extremes, undermine reasonable discourse and polarise society.
Possibly as part of the de-radicalisation drive, the government had in late August constituted a three-member committee to review whether a much-circulated medieval Arabic text that purportedly induced impressionable youth into the jihadist cause violated the law of the land.
Earlier, the State police chief had flagged the possibility that online recruiters for proscribed organisations such as Islamic State could be circulating translations of the Mashari Al-Ashwaq Ila Masari al-Ushaaq, that roughly translated as the Door of Victory under the Shadow of the Sword, for attracting persons to their extremist cause.
Chief Secretary, V. P. Joy, Additional Chief Secretary, Home, T. K. Jose, State Police Chief Anil Kanth, ADGP, Law and Order, Vijay. S. Sakhare, ADGP, Intelligence, T. K. Vinod Kumar and ADGP, ADGP, Cyberdome, Manoj Abraham are likely to attend the meeting.
