“The sight of that thick cotton rope is enough to put a man to death. Then why hang him? A curious onlooker at an exhibition organized as part of the first anniversary celebrations of the LDF government in Kozhikode asked the prison officer handling the stall of the prison department.
The stall shows a man’s dummy hanging on one side, while on the other side is a prison cell. An officer demonstrates the entire process of execution and how to ensure death, while visitors listen attentively, often with a chill down their spine. “The purpose of this demonstration is to intimidate you, so that you can think about the consequences before committing a crime,” the officer joked.
The last of the 218 outlets, the stall is one of the favorites of the visitors, as it presents the challenge of spending an hour in a jail cell. A common cot used by the prisoners, their clothes, utensils and the cell with toilet facilities is also a popular selfie spot. The stall also features custom-made hanging ropes and lesser-known details about Ripper Chandran’s final execution in the kingdom in 1991.
The Fire and Rescue Services Department stall is one of the most sought after stalls at the expo, especially for a scuba diver’s dummy hanging from the ceiling. The various tools used by the firemen during their operations are viewed with utmost interest by the visitors. Videos of various risky tasks performed by firemen and miniature models of fire engines are the crowd pullers here.
Meanwhile, the Kerala Police has earned many fans through its display of various weapons ranging from AK 47s to grenades. There are many fans of ancient wireless systems, bomb squad details and the latest forensic equipment. The advanced techniques used by the police are displayed at the stalls of Fingerprint Bureau, Bomb Detection Squad and Forensic Sciences Laboratory.