The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Sub-Inspectors suspended

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Wednesday, Jan 17, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Sub-Inspectors suspended

Staff Reporter

On charges of corruption, dereliction of duty

Thiruvananthapuram: Commissioner of Police K. Padmakumar has suspended two Sub-Inspectors attached to the Nemom police station on the charges of corruption, falsification of records and dereliction of duty.

The suspended officers were identified as V.S. Rajesh and Sunil. The Commissioner ordered a detailed inquiry into the incident.

According to the police, the Commissioner ordered the suspensions on the basis of a preliminary police intelligence report regarding the circumstances of the arrest of Sajir and two women from a house near Naruvamoodu on January 11.

A police team, led by the two Sub-Inspectors, had raided the house of Sajir after local people complained that the residence was being used for trafficking in women. The three persons, including the two women, were taken to Nemom police station.

However, no case was registered under the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act. There was also no record of the women having been taken into custody by the police. The City Police Special Branch was yet to identify the women who were detained at the station for some time and then allowed to go allegedly without observing any legal formalities. The unit has no clue about the whereabouts of the women. An official said efforts were on to identify the women and Sajir would be questioned again in this connection.

The inquiry also found that the police team led by the Sub-Inspectors had confiscated two televisions, one Video-CD player, three cots and some mattresses from the house. The inquiry concluded that the officers did not account the seizure. Some of the items were deposited at the police quarters shared by the Sub-Inspectors. The report alleged that station records were later falsified to make it appear that all legal formalities were observed in the case.

The police were also conducting an internal inquiry to find out if there had been any supervisory lapse on the part of Circle Inspector (Nemom) Prem Kumar. The Commissioner's office had recently received several complaints against the functioning of the two Sub-Inspectors, official sources.

The questioning of Sajir had led the police to `Mafia' Kannan, a person accused in several spirit smuggling cases. He was later arrested on the charge of possessing a country-made pistol and a .38 calibre bullet of the type used in foreign-made revolvers.

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