Exclusive: Real-life “Singapenney” Merin Joseph IPS talks about the real hunt for rapist!

Kollam Police Commissioner, Merin Joseph IPS had recently hit the headlines all for the right reasons. She can be considered as the real-life “Singapenney” for her recent daring activity. For the unversed, she along with her team had left to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia to nab a 38-year-old child-rape accused, Sunil Kumar Bhadran. 

Sunil had raped a 13-year-old girl who was his friend’s niece, for three months in 2017. By the time the girl narrated her story to her family, he had already fled the country to Saudi Arabia, where he was employed as a tile worker. Later, the girl was moved to Government Mahila Mandiram rescue home at Karicode in Kollam district, where she committed suicide. The case had been pending for almost two years and when Merin came across it, she immediately wanted to bring justice to the girl’s family.

When Behindwoods Ice interviewed the officer more about the incident, she said “No one was really familiar with the extradition procedures as it had not been done in the past. So, I thought as I can also gain the experience and later guide others and since it was a heinous crime, I decided that I am the one who is going to nab him. It will also give me personal satisfaction.”

“If I go and nab the culprit, the message that is passed to the society might be much stronger than an Inspector or a Sub-Inspector nabbing him. These were the main reasons why I decided to go further with the process.”

On asking of her experience of nabbing the fugitive that sounded cinematic to all, she said, “Though it must have sounded or looked dramatic for most, as it appears in many films, it was a part of our duty. The Indian Embassy and the Interpols had co-operated well with us in nabbing him.”

The third woman Malayali IPS officer in the Kerala cadre, after R. Sreelekha and B. Sandhya, Merin says IPS training does harden one’s soul. When further asked about her role-model, she immediately said, “All the lady police officers are inspired by Dr. Kiran Bedi. Off course, she is a role model for most of them at a time where a female officer was a rare sight, she did everything boldly and earned a name to herself. Even male officers looked up to her as an idol. She had paved a path for all of us and she remains to be the main idol for all of us.”

Watch the full interview video below to know more interesting factors of this young officer -