Kerala Police has begun the second phase of Operation Toofan, a training and coordination programme aimed at making the state’s response to substance abuse more scientific and comprehensive, with 650 police officers from 473 stations taking part in a programme at Amrita Hospital in Kochi.
The training programme was inaugurated by Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala. Mata Amritanandamayi Math vice-chairman Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri and Kerala State Police Chief Ravada A. Chandrasekhar attended as chief guests, according to the report by Mathrubhumi – Kochi.
Chennithala said the programme had entered its second phase. The initiative brings together the police and healthcare systems, with all government hospitals in Kerala and around 35 private hospitals reported to be participating. The arrangement is intended to support coordination between enforcement, medical treatment and rehabilitation services rather than limit the response to policing alone.
Several systems and programmes linked to Operation Toofan were introduced during the event. Amrita Technologies has developed Toofan One software to coordinate the programme’s activities. Other initiatives include Kuttippetti and Police Bro, developed in collaboration with Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham to bring reports of substance abuse concerns at the school level to the attention of the police.
The programme also includes Toofan-Thambi, an initiative started by Amrita Hospital for helping indigenous communities move towards a substance-free environment. The wider Toofan Care system covers police-hospital coordination, telemedicine, treatment and rehabilitation. The report did not provide details of the software’s operating architecture, the number of patients treated, or the programme’s budget.
The training reflects the administrative challenge of responding to substance abuse across institutions that operate with different responsibilities. Police stations handle enforcement and reporting, hospitals provide clinical care, and schools can serve as points where concerns are identified. The programme’s stated structure places these functions within a coordinated system, while the participation of private hospitals extends the network beyond government facilities.
Additional participants included Additional Director General of Police P. Vijayan, legislator T.J. Vinod, journalist Sreekandan Nair, Kochi City Police Commissioner S. Kalaraj Mahesh Kumar, Assistant Commissioner T.D. Sunil Kumar and state nodal officer Putta Vimaladitya. Amrita Hospitals group medical director Dr Prem Nair and other officials associated with the Toofan programme also addressed the event.
Doctors from Amrita Hospital in Kochi conducted the training sessions. They included Dr K.P. Girish Kumar, Dr C. Sreekumar, Dr K.R. Thankappan, Dr Dinesh, Dr Bindu R., Dr Ramakrishnan U.K., Dr Aswathy S. and Dr Ranjith S. Bhadran. The programme’s next operational steps will involve continued coordination among the participating police stations, hospitals and associated initiatives under the second phase of Operation Toofan.
