‘They were armed with guns’: How a Kerala lady cop led a daring drug raid in MP Colony

Kanhangad (Kerala): Beyond the military stories told by her father, intense real-world adventure was unfamiliar territory for Neethu Thachanchery. Having shifted her career path from teaching to policing, she was thrust into high-stakes action shortly after completing her probation.

Assigned by the District Police Chief to lead a special squad, Neethu, a junior Sub-Inspector at Hosdurg Police Station, embarked on an inter-state operation alongside officers Saneeshkumar, K T Anil, Jyothish and Jayesh.

Driving across multiple states in a jeep, the team tracked phone locations to apprehend Vishnu and Rubiya (alias Riya), key figures in a network smuggling Nigerian-sourced MDMA into Kerala. The operation followed the arrest of a five-member gang in Chandera caught with 139 grams of MDMA.

After continuous shifts in the suspects’ location from Dholpur in Rajasthan to Maharajpura in Madhya Pradesh, the team arrived at a densely populated colony with the assistance of local police.

“It was a crowded colony with identical houses and hostile residents. A local group warned us against searching the area and actively tried to block our path. They carried guns and other weapons. Deciding to push forward regardless, we bypassed the resistance and entered the colony,” SI Neethu recalled.

The squad located the residence of Vishnu's brother-in-law, where they detained Rubiya and learned that Vishnu had fled. After producing Rubiya before a local court to secure a transit remand for Kanhangad, the squad pursued Vishnu, who had covered a distance of 500 kilometres. The team tracked him down at Betma in Indore, successfully apprehending him before returning to Kerala after days of continuous travel. The successful operation earned the team formal commendation from the District Police Chief.

A native of Munduparamba in Malappuram, Neethu is the daughter of the late T Ramachandran, a former Havildar in the Indian Army, and P Sunitha. She completed her schooling at Malappuram Government Girls Higher Secondary School, earned her BCom and MCom degrees from Malappuram Government College, and cleared the UGC-NET before joining the police service.