In a 24-hour-long special drive, christened ‘Operation Jagratha’, the Kochi City police made 114 arrests during a total of 194 raids.
Addressing the media here on Wednesday, District Police Chief (Kochi City) A. Akbar said 400 police personnel from all four sub-divisions split into 90 teams fanned out across the State for cracking down on miscreants and drug rackets for more efficient maintenance of law and order. Arrests were made in long-pending cases in which accused were on the run, in cases in which non-bailable warrants were pending, and in other criminal cases in which investigation was already under way.
“The operation was the result of a fortnight-long planning in which the accused were tracked down to various districts in the State. Among the cases were attempt to murder, attempt to commit culpable homicide, rape, cheating, theft, and also cases registered under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act and NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act.
Arrests were made on a total of 31 long-pending warrants, 37 non-bailable warrants, 28 crime cases, and 18 goonda and rowdy activities. With the preoccupation of the police with the Sabarimala pilgrimage, festivities like New Year and VVIP visits over, the drive was more about the force returning to its core duty of law and order maintenance, especially with the Lok Sabha elections also round the corner.
Mr. Akbar said the crackdown on drug peddling and vehicle checking would be intensified in the coming days.