T’puram: Home minister Ramesh Chennithala on Tuesday clarified that no meeting had officially been convened in Kochi under the banner of ‘Operation Toofan’, asserting that only police officers are authorized to organise meetings under the state’s anti-narcotics campaign.Responding to questions from reporters about a meeting allegedly convened by former KPCC chief K Sudhakaran, Chennithala said he had no knowledge of the gathering and was unaware of who had organized it or who had attended.“Operation Toofan meetings are convened only by police officers. I have no information about the meeting mentioned in news reports. No meeting has been officially convened in Kochi in the name of Operation Toofan,” Chennithala said.He reiterated that official meetings under the campaign are convened only by senior police officers with the approval of higher authorities and would invariably involve the district police chief or the city police commissioner.“Please do not attribute unofficial meetings to Operation Toofan,” the minister added.Chennithala also asserted that no one would be able to undermine Operation Toofan and said the campaign would continue without disruption.The clarification follows media reports alleging that a meeting convened by Sudhakaran was attended by individuals facing criminal cases and known gang leaders, who were reportedly asked to cooperate with the govt’s anti-drug campaign.
