Merin Joseph | File PhotoPalakkad: Assistant superintendent of police (ASP) Merin Joseph has been promoted and posted as commandant of the Kerala Armed Police (KAP) second battalion in Muttikulangara. She is the first woman to hold the post.
She was serving as ASP in Irinjalakuda. Women battalion commandants are a rarity in Kerala.
Merin was appointed after the incumbent Cyril C. Valloor proceeded on leave. She took charge on New Year's Day.
Though Merin is the first woman commandant of KAP, Uma Behra had briefly held its charge when she was commandant of the Malabar Special Police (MSP) batallion in Malappuram.
In the past six years, Rajpal Meena was the only IPS officer to be the batallion commandant.
In 2014, Merin became an Internet sensation when her photo in police attire first appeared on social media. The photo was widely circulated on the Internet with rumors that she might be appointed as ACP in Kochi. She later took to Facebook and clarified that she was still under training in Hyderabad.
Merin has been an social media's darling ever since and even her marriage got extensive media coverage.
The officer had come under fire for instantly posting a picture with actor Nivin Pauly on Facebook while they shared dais at a function.
