Rural police to get new chief as Saxena moves to NIA

Kochi: Ernakulam rural district police chief Vaibhav Saxena was deputed to national investigation agency (NIA) as superintendent of police (SP). Hemalatha, the current commandant of rapid response and rescue force, succeeds him as rural SP.

Taking over the role in Nov 2023, Saxena led major operations, including the seizure of 1.8kg of MDMA from Paravur, one of Kerala's largest drug busts, and launched the anti-drug campaign Operation Clean. Over 250kg of cannabis and 4kg of MDMA were seized during his tenure.

Saxena also played a key role in arresting Nigerian drug kingpin Reginald Paul and solved several murder cases through innovative techniques, including undercover investigations. Under his leadership, police also nabbed suspects in major cases such as organ trafficking, gold theft, and various murder and fraud cases.

He initiated public-friendly campaigns like Urappu, which engaged police officers with complainants, and Urappu @ School, which conducted awareness classes among students.