Puthiyottil Vijayan was born on 4 February 1968 in a not-so-affluent family in a remote hamlet called Puthoormadam near Kozhikode in North Kerala. He is the third child of seven siblings.
Vijayan studied in High School at Pantheerankavu High School,Kozhikode. When he failed to clear the Secondary School Leaving Certificate exam on his first attempt,he had to take up employment in construction sites at an early age. It was only after a gap of two years that he managed to pass this exam. Determined to earn a college degree,he set up a small scale soap manufacturing unit and took classes for school children.[2]
Vijayan went on to do an MA and MPhil in economics from Calicut University,and finally passed the Civil Services examination in 1999 to join the IPS.[3]
Career
IPS Officer
In October 2001 he began his policing career as the Assistant Superintendent of Police (Kanhangad) in Kasaragod District. He has been District Police Chief of several districts including Kasaragod,Thiruvananthapuram Rural,Malappuram,Ernakulam Rural and was the first to have served as Commissioner of Police in all four Commissionerates in the state,viz. Thiruvananthapuram,[4]Kozhikode,Thrissur and Kochi.
He also had held simultaneous charge as Deputy Inspector General of Police (Battalions) overseeing all Police Battalions in Kerala,as well as official-in-charge of the Kerala Railway Police while holding the position of DIG (Intelligence).
P. Vijayan IPS,speaking at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore,USA,2013
In acknowledgement of his efforts to promote a drug-free community,in particular among youth,he was awarded a fellowship in 2013 to attend the Global Tobacco Control Leadership Programme at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Washington DC,USA.[6]
P Vijayan had held the post of IG of Anti Terrorist Squad and managing director of Kerala Books and Publications Society. later as the IG Training,Kerala Police. and was promoted as the ADGP in 2024. and holds the office of Director,Kerala Police Academy
Investigating officer
A Kerala cadre police official,Vijayan led the teams that investigated the Kalamassery Bus Burning case,[7] the Sabarimala Thanthri case,[8] the Chelembra bank robbery,[9] and the email threat case against the Prime Minister of India.[10]
Contributions
Vijayan's community initiatives include a Police Call Centre at Kozhikode,[11][12] and Pink Autos programme in Thiruvananthapuram for safe travel by women.[13][14] He also initiated an innovative "Punyam Poonkavanam" [15] project to promote waste cleanup at the Sabarimala pilgrimage site[16][17][18] and a Traffic Safety &Learning Centre at Thrissur,[19] and School Protection Groups.[20]
In August 2005,Vijayan,as Commissioner of Police,Kochi City,constituted a team of "Shadow Police" as the first of its kind in the State. Subsequently,such units have been formed and are functional in Kozhikode,Thrissur and Trivandrum.[21] He also initiated the State Temple anti-Theft Squad in Kerala.[22]
In acknowledgement of his efforts to promote a drug-free community,Vijayan was awarded a fellowship in 2013 to attend the Global Tobacco Control Leadership Programme at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Institute for Public Health in Washington DC,USA.[23] Subsequently,Vijayan has been designated as state coordinator to lead the statewide school-level anti-drug abuse campaign of Government of Kerala,viz. "Safe Campus Clean Campus"[24][failed verification]
Youth initiatives
Student Police Cadets with P.Vijayan IPS
Early in his professional career,Vijayan realised that it was necessary for police to connect with youth in a healthy and positive manner. This would not only create a good image of the police in young minds,but also channel the adolescent fascination with authority in a positive and productive manner.[25]
Thus,Vijayan launched a Student Police Cadet Project in August 2010 in 127 schools across Kerala,with 11,176 students - both boys and girls - enrolled as Cadets (G.O (P) No 121/2010/Home dtd 29-05-2010). The project has now been expanded to a statewide network of 433 schools with a combined strength of nearly 35,000 SPCs,being trained by over 850 existing teachers and nearly 1,500 officers of Kerala Police.[26][27] This programme is planned for expansion throughout India.[28][29]
As Kozhikode City Police Commissioner,Vijayan initiated the Our Responsibility to Children (ORC) project to address the increasing socially deviant behaviour among adolescents.[30] The success of the project prompted Government of Kerala to take it up in all districts,under the aegis of the Kerala Social Security Mission.[31]
Vijayan is also founder of the Police Youth Football Academy,a football programme for youth at Thrissur.[32] He then founded a similar academy at Thiruvananthapuram.[33][34]
Personal life
Vijayan is married to Dr M. Beena IAS,a medical doctor by training and a civil servant (Kerala cadre 1999)[35] by profession,and the couple have two school-going children. In 2008,Vijayan And Beena were recognised as the Model Official Couple by Thrissur-based South Indian Bank Ltd.[36]
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President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service 
Police Medal for Meritorious Service 
