Kerala clears IPS officer Ajithkumar to DGP rank
The 1995 batch officer had been under fire from the opposition and the CPI for his “controversial meetings” with senior RSS leaders last year and alleged role in the disruption of the Thrissur Pooram
The Kerala cabinet on Wednesday approved the promotion of senior IPS officer ADGP MR Ajithkumar, who was recently embroiled in a political row over his “controversial meetings” with RSS leaders, to the rank of director general of police.
The 1995 batch officer had been under fire from the opposition and the CPI for his “controversial meetings” with senior RSS leaders last year and alleged role in the disruption of the Thrissur Pooram. Congress accused the police of disrupting the festival to help the BJP win the Lok Sabha seat from central Kerala. He was removed as ADGP (law and order) and posted to the Armed Police Battalion in October.
A release from the chief minister’s office stated that the cabinet approved the recommendations of the scrutiny committee regarding promotion of existing IPS officers in the state cadre. Besides Ajithkumar, ADGP S Suresh was also promoted as DGP, it said.
The promotion list for the top rank will be finalised after the appointment of Manoj Abraham, a 1994-batch officer.
Tarun Kumar, a 2000-batch IPS officer, will be promoted to ADGP, while four officers from the 2007 batch will be promoted to the IG rank, the CMO said.
Five officers of the 2011 IPS batch — Yatheesh Chandra, Hari Sankar, Karthik K, Pratheesh Kumar and T Narayanan — will be promoted as DIG.
Ajithkumar, seen as close to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, came under fire after PV Anvar, the MLA from Nilambur who recently left the LDF, raised a slew of allegations against him including association with gold smuggling gangs, amassing illicit wealth, tapping phone conversations of bureaucrats and ministers.
The Congress also accused Ajithkumar of holding secret meetings with the RSS in Thrissur and Kovalam, at the behest of the chief minister, to strike quid pro quo deals with the ruling BJP at the Centre. The senior officer was alleged of disrupting the Thrissur Pooram festivities this year and indirectly creating a favourable atmosphere for the BJP to win the Lok Sabha segment.
Following the allegations, the state government announced multiple probes, including a vigilance inquiry, headed by DGP Shaik Darvesh Saheb against Ajithkumar. The controversial officer, who has claimed innocence, has recorded his statements before the inquiry panels. The final inquiry reports are still awaited.
MLA Anvar, reacting to the promotion of Ajithkumar, said the ongoing inquiries against him “are a farce.” “The state government, the state police and the chief minister’s office have come under total control of the RSS. The chief minister should go ahead and give the RSS khaki uniform to the existing DGP. It will fit him,” he said.
At the same time, senior CPM leader AK Balan said there were no “technical or legal” hurdles in the promotion of the controversial officer. “No court has said that an officer facing an inquiry should not be promoted. There is no such precedent,” he said.
