TN to identify policemen who need 'behavioural corrections' and provide counselling

Under all-round attack over the death of a father and his son in police custody in Thoothukudi district, the Tamil Nadu Police has begun the process of identifying personnel who need “behavioural correction” and send them for counselling under its “Police Well-being Programme.”

Instructions to all police units across the state in this regard have been issued from the office of the Director-General of Police (DGP), top sources in the government told DH.

“All unit officers are identifying personnel under heavy mental stress, due to various reasons, to undergo counselling under the police well-being programme,” a senior official told DH. Those identified by the units will be sent for a specially-designed course that will include lessons on behaving with people and on handling stress while at work.

“Police Wellbeing Programme” was designed in collaboration with Bengaluru-based NIMHANS in 2018 which imparts lessons on how to stay calm and beat stress while at work.

Already, the Tiruchirapalli range has removed 80 police personnel in need of “behavioural correction” and they will be asked to improve their interpersonal skills.

“They are taken off the duties involving direct public contact as their track record in that aspect is found wanting. They will be gradually reintegrated into regular duties only after completing a specially designed course with CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) component to improve the way they deal with the public,” V Balakrishnan, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Trichy Range), wrote on his Facebook page.

The move comes after the police department came under attack for the custodial deaths of P Jeyaraj (61), and his son Immanuel Bennix (31), who were allegedly tortured for hours together by policemen at the Sathankulam police station in Thoothukudi district.

They were taken into custody on June 19 and were transferred to the Kovilpatti sub-jail on June 20. However, the son died on June 22 and the father the following day succumbing to the injuries inflicted during the custody.

The deaths sparked massive outrage across India with political parties, celebrities, and the common people demanding justice for the father-son duo. All policemen from the station were shunted out on Monday, while the Thoothukudi Superintendent of Police (SP) Arun Balagopalan was put on “compulsory wait” on Tuesday (June 30), as a fall out of the incident.

The move by the DIG came on the same day the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court questioned whether the Tamil Nadu government was still continuing with the “Police Wellbeing Programme”.