Kerala’s first woman IPS officer, R Sreelekha, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday.
Her decision comes at a time when the state’s police force faces growing allegations of being influenced by the Hindu nationalist paramilitary organisation RSS.
The announcement comes at a time when the state is debating Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) MR Ajith Kumar’s alleged meetings with senior RSS leaders, feeding into the growing perception of the saffronisation of the police force.
Sreelekha’s alignment with the BJP marks the latest instance of former top civil servants joining the party, amplifying concerns over the saffronisation of Kerala’s public institutions.
Sreelekha, who retired in 2020 as the director general of Kerala Fire and Rescue Services, follows in the footsteps of other high-ranking police officials who have gravitated towards the BJP post-retirement.
She is not alone—former DGPs TP Senkumar and Jacob Thomas both had joined the BJP after their retirements.
TP Senkumar, after retiring in 2017, came close to the BJP following discussions with the party’s then-state president, Kummanam Rajasekharan. Soon after, Senkumar’s name appeared in the list of BJP candidates for various elections, including the Kuttanad by-election.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.
