Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala): The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Kerala police found serious lapses in purchasing puppies for The State Dog Training Centre of the Thissur-based Kerala Police Academy. Irregularities were also found in purchasing food and medicine for police dogs.
Following the vigilance findings, SS Suresh, Nodal Officer of Training Center and Assistant Commandant of KAP 3rd Battalion, has been suspended on Tuesday by the Kerala Home Department. Officials said that Vigilance found that the puppies were bought from Punjab and Rajasthan at high prices as compared to the prevailing rates.
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It also revealed that Assistant Commandant SS Suresh took a special interest and assigned Dr.Sunitha Karunakaran, the District Lab Officer, to treat the dogs of the Police Academy. The Assistant Commandant also insisted to buy dog feed from a private company called 'Venat Enterprises' in Thiruvananthapuram. The Vigilance probe also detected the tender norms were liberalised intentionally for this particular shop to obtain the tender for dog feed supply.
The investigation also found that the Police Academy has the facility to train 125 dogs, but dogs are being trained in camps like Kuttikanam, which are relatively inefficient. The probe was carried out by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau on receiving a letter sighting the corruption and irregularities of the Dog Training Centre.
In November 2022, Vigilance sought permission to examine the records of the State Dog Training Center to check whether the nodal officer had violated rules and regulations. The police headquarters accorded approval for the examination of files.
