The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : IGP accuses DIG of bungling Marad probe

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 28, 2005

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

IGP accuses DIG of bungling Marad probe

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JAN. 27. The IGP, Vigilance, N. Sanker Reddy, today told the State Human Rights Commission that the former Kozhikode City Police Commissioner Sanjeeb Kumar Patjoshi was not taking any interest in supervising the investigation of sensitive cases including the Marad riot cases as he was busy attending private functions.

Mr. Reddy said this in his reply to Mr. Patjoshi's charge that he (Mr. Reddy) had entered adverse remarks in his confidential report as he refused to "go slow" on the investigation into the rape of a woman patient in the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital in July, 2000.

Mr. Patjoshi is at present DIG attached to the Police Academy, Thrissur.

Mr. Reddy told the Commission member S. Varghese that Mr. Patjoshi was levelling false accusations against him because he had issued him memos for dereliction of duty. He had asked Mr. Patjoshi in writing on January 24, 2003, to inquire into the activities of Bijli, who was learnt to be keen on avenging his father Aboobacker's killing during the previous Marad riots.

Mr. Reddy alleged that without conducting any investigation into Bijli's activities, Mr. Patjoshi had written on the side of the official letter that that the Assistant Commissioner (South) had told him that there is no person named Bijli.

Four months later, Bijli took bloody revenge as he (Mr. Reddy) had feared. If Mr. Patjoshi had conducted a field inquiry into Bijli's activities, the second Marad riots could have been prevented, Mr. Reddy said.

According to Mr. Reddy, his subordinate used to leave his jurisdiction for attending private functions without permission. Mr. Patjoshi had attended 80 private functions between January and September, 2002, as per his weekly diaries.

Mr. Patjoshi, who was present during the hearing, was given a copy of the reply for filing objections, if any, at the Commission's next sitting.

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