Kottayam: Kerala police, often forced to resort to lathi charges, are getting trained in how to wield the batons. Civil Police Officers (CPOs) in Kottayam are undergoing a training to learn better professional skills so that they can use lathis efficiently. Baton is popularly known in India as lathi.

Four police personnel who had received such training earlier are now training their colleagues at the Police Parade Ground.

The old style of hitting on the head and on the back with a lathi will change. A lathi should be used to hit on the left shoulder and below the left knee only, the trainees are taught. They are also taught how to block attacks.

Deputy Inspector General K Sethuraman initiated the training after studying baton-charge methods in other places, including foreign countries. The training is being imparted by Sub Inspectors N. Ganesh Kumar and A. Shahirshah and instructors M G Sajeesh and V S Rakesh.