Thiruvananthapuram, May 23 (IANS) Launching an aggressive campaign against Kerala’s growing drug menace, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on Saturday unveiled ‘Operation Toofan — The Narco Hunt’, a statewide crackdown aimed at dismantling narcotics networks targeting school and college students.

The announcement came after Chennithala chaired his first high-level meeting with senior police officials after assuming charge as Home Minister earlier this week.

A seasoned administrator handling the crucial portfolio for the second time in his long political career, Chennithala made it clear that the new government would adopt a zero-tolerance approach towards narcotics and criminal syndicates operating across the state.

Describing the drug mafia as one of Kerala’s gravest emerging threats, the Home Minister said the operation would be a sustained and coordinated mission to wipe out the network from its roots.

He warned that narcotics gangs were now deliberately targeting young students and educational campuses, making the fight against drugs not merely a law-and-order issue but a social necessity.

As part of the campaign, strict action will also be initiated against those selling tobacco products near educational institutions.

Chennithala appealed to the public to actively cooperate with the police by reporting suspicious activities and movements in their localities.

The State Police Chief has also been directed to coordinate closely with counterparts in neighbouring states and other parts of the country to track inter-state drug links and supply chains feeding Kerala’s underground narcotics market.

In another major reform initiative, Chennithala announced a comprehensive makeover of 484 police stations across Kerala.

Stressing the need for a more humane and people-friendly policing system, he said police stations should no longer intimidate ordinary citizens seeking justice and assistance.

The Minister also took note of the large number of abandoned and age-old vehicles lying piled up in police station compounds across the state and directed officials to prepare an urgent action plan to clear them.

The announcements signal the beginning of an ambitious overhaul of Kerala’s policing and anti-drug strategy under Chennithala’s leadership, with the government keen to project a tougher and more accessible law enforcement system.

During the previous Congress regime under late Oommen Chandy, Chennithala handled the Home portfolio.

–IANS

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