What started off as a random incident of a police officer abusing his power to allegedly rob a street-side vendor of a fish is beginning to assume wider dimensions.
The State Police Complaints Authority (SPCA), which is probing the issue, has been left fuming at what it perceives as concerted attempts by the police to shield the officer concerned.
The suspected officer of the rank of DySP from Alapuzha had been summoned to appear before the SPCA on Friday. But instead, a circle inspector and an assistant sub-inspector turned up in his place. Clearly unhappy over the turn of events, SPCA Chairman K. Narayana Kurup directed that the officer be called up immediately. It emerged that he was attending a sessions trial as part of official duty. The call was repeated a little while later, only to be told that the officer was sleeping. Mr. Kurup said that sleeping during duty hours held scope for another case of misconduct. The SPCA issued a notice to the circle inspector to be served on the officer concerned, directing him to appear at next Friday’s hearing.
“This fish has begun to stink. The police know the culprit and are wilfully shielding him by taking refuge in the petitioner’s inability to pinpoint the officer concerned. This doesn’t bode well for the conduct of the police. The petitioner is an illiterate fish vendor who cannot be expected to identify an officer by rank,” Mr. Kurup said.
Haneef, a fish vendor, had petitioned the SPCA that an officer of the rank of sub-inspector, whom he identified as Prem Kumar of Changanassery police station, had taken the biggest fish from his basket and then refused to pay. The incident had allegedly taken place on the Alappuzha-Changanassery highway last November.
Initial inquiries by the SPCA with the Changanassery police were met with the response that there was no officer by that name. Suspecting an attempt by the police to stall the inquiry, the SPCA pulled up the Inspector General of Police, Ernakulam Range, for not producing the officer before the authority.
Then, on Thursday, Mr. Kurup was told by a senior police officer in Ernakulam range that an officer of the rank of DySP had been identified as the suspect and that he would appear before the SPCA on Friday next. “This is no longer a case involving mere fish. We are determined to go to any length to nab the culprit in the case,” Mr. Kurup said.
