The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Report sought on charge against SP

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Tuesday, Feb 12, 2008
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Report sought on charge against SP

Staff Reporter

Misbehaviour with woman constable alleged

Alleged incident occurred at the flower show venue
Police to question witnesses of the ‘assault.’

Thiruvananthapuram: A police inquiry is on to find out if there is any truth in the allegation that a senior police officer had misbehaved with a woman police constable at the venue of the flower and aquarium show in the city on Saturday night.

Arun Kumar Sinha, Inspector-General of Police (Thiruvananthapuram Range), said he had asked City Police Commissioner Ravada Azad Chandrasekhar to submit a report on the matter.

The allegation was that Superintendent of Police and Kerala Financial Corporation Managing Director T.P. Nandakumar, who is also one of the chief organisers of the flower show, had caught the woman constable by her belt and shook her for leaving her post and not wearing her uniform properly.

The Commissioner said he had spoken to the woman constable and she did not have any complaint against Mr. Nandakumar. The allegations against Mr. Nandakumar seemed to be baseless. However, the police were looking into the matter in detail. He said the police would question people, including policemen, who were at the spot at that time.

Youth Congress district president Manacaud Suresh met the Commissioner on Monday evening and demanded that Mr. Nandakumar be prosecuted on charge of harassing women at work place.

He said she was inconsolable for nearly an hour after the incident. Another policeman who witnessed the “assault” reported the matter to the Museum police. Another officer reached the spot and recorded her statement.

Later, a set of senior officers threatened the constable and made her retract her statement.

Mr. Suresh also accused the police of violating the Supreme Court directions meant to protect women from harassment at work place.

The Youth Congress will boycott Mr. Nandakumar and agitate on the streets till the official is suspended from service and prosecuted, he said.

Nandakumar’s version

Mr. Nandakumar said the allegations were false. He said he had reprimanded the constable for allowing seven men, some of whom were drunk, to jump the queue and enter the venue without tickets.

People who were in the queue with tickets objected to the constable’s action and started shouting at her and the private guards manning the ticket gate.

Mr. Nandakumar said he reached the gate with other organisers and asked her why she had abandoned her post, which was away from the ticket gate.

He said he also reproached the constable for not wearing uniform properly. Mr. Nandakumar said she was wearing her belt loose and had no cap.

He said he turned back the men who were allowed free entry by the constable.

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