Thiruvananthapuram/Kottayam. The Kerala government on Monday announced a high-level inquiry into the serious allegations leveled by ruling LDF MLA P V Anwar against some top Indian Police Service (IPS) officials. Anwar, MLA from Nilambur, has accused P Sasi and ADGP (Law and Order) Ajit Kumar of betrayal and failure to discharge their responsibilities honestly. This has created problems for the Marxist Communist Party (CPI-M)-led Kerala government.
Ajit Kumar is considered to be the closest and most trusted person to the Chief Minister.
Breaking his silence on the matter, state Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that a high-level inquiry will be conducted by a top-level officer into the allegations leveled by the MLA. He made this statement at an event organised by the Police Association in Kottayam. Interestingly, Ajith Kumar was also present on the stage when the Chief Minister announced the inquiry.
The Chief Minister said the issues raised would be dealt with utmost seriousness and any kind of indiscipline in the police would be zero-tolerated. Vijayan said it had been decided to assign a top-level officer the task of investigating all the allegations, though he did not specifically mention Anwar’s allegations.
He said, “The discipline of the police force is very important. Any violation of discipline will not be tolerated. Special action will be taken against it and there will be strict consequences.” While praising the contribution of Kerala Police and its various achievements, Vijayan said that there is still a small section of policemen who are reluctant to accept the changes taking place in the force and are working against its positive spirit.
He said, “His act is a matter of shame for the entire force… In the last eight years, 108 such officers have been removed from the force. The government will continue such action.” The ADGP spoke during the ceremony but did not say anything directly about the allegations against him. Although later media personnel surrounded him with questions, the officer replied that he has already given a letter to the Chief Minister and the Director General of Police to investigate the allegations against him.
Meanwhile, soon after the Chief Minister announced the probe, Anwar levelled fresh allegations against the ADGP at a press conference in Malappuram. He alleged that the top official was constructing a luxurious mansion in an expensive area near the Kowdiar Palace in the capital city. The MLA questioned what was his source of funds to buy land and construct a house in such an expensive area.
He also released some more alleged evidence, including records of telephone conversations allegedly exposing Kumar’s alleged illegal activities. Anwar alleged that Kumar got the phones of ministers tapped. Apart from this, he has links with a gold smuggling gang and is involved in serious crimes. He also made serious allegations against Pathanamthitta Superintendent of Police Sujit Das.
Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) also said on Monday that the party and the Left Front government will investigate all the allegations thoroughly. Like the Chief Minister, the party secretary also did not criticise Anwar or reject his allegations. At the same time, reacting to the allegations made by businessman-turned-politician and two-time MLA Anwar, CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan told reporters, “All aspects of the allegations will be seriously investigated by the government and the party and any action will be taken accordingly.” At the same time, the opposition Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party targeted the government over the revelations against top officials and demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Vijayan.
Leader of Opposition in the Assembly V D Satheeshan told reporters here, “The Chief Minister’s office has become a den of criminal elements. The Chief Minister has no right to remain in office even for a minute. Our demand is that the Chief Minister should resign and hand it over to the Central Bureau of Investigation for a detailed investigation of the allegations.” He said the ruling front MLA also made allegations against the Chief Minister’s political secretary P Sasi, who is a CPI(M) leader.
The Leader of Opposition said, “He is a person to whom the Chief Minister has entrusted all the responsibilities. Then, how can Chief Minister Vijayan run away from the responsibility (of these allegations)?”. BJP state unit chief K Surendran questioned how the Left Front government could remain in power when an MLA of the ruling party himself alleged that the political secretary and ADGP (Law and Order) were involved in gold smuggling, anti-national activities and murder. He said, “What right does the government have to remain in power. If what the MLA said is wrong, he should be arrested and sent to jail.”