ADGP transferred from law and order to armed police battalion
ADGP MR Ajith Kumar was transferred after inquiries into alleged misconduct, including links to gold smugglers and phone tapping, ahead of a contentious assembly session.
Additional director general of police (ADGP) (law and order) MR Ajith Kumar was transferred on Sunday, hours after state police chief Shaik Darvesh Saheb submitted to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan the reports on various inquiries that were launched against Kumar.
Kumar was divested of the law and order charge and transferred to the armed police battalion, a release from the chief minister’s office said.
ADGP (Intelligence) Manoj Abraham will take over as the head of law and order in the state, the release said.
The statement did not specify whether the officer would be suspended on the specific charges against him that provoked the action against him.
The action on the controversial officer comes just a day before the Kerala assembly is set to reconvene in what is expected to be a stormy session with the Congress-led opposition raring to put the LDF dispensation on the defensive. The action also comes days after the CPI, the second biggest partner in the LDF, reiterated the need for the officer to be divested of the crucial law and order charge in order to maintain the probity of the government.
Kumar faced multiple internal inquiries of police, primarily based on the complaints submitted by Independent MLA PV Anvar to the state government. The officer is accused of maintaining links with gold smugglers, amassing illegal wealth, misappropriation of smuggled gold, tapping phone conversations of ministers, holding secret meetings with top RSS leaders and lapses in the conduct of the Thrissur Pooram festival earlier this year.
