The government will retain Jacob Thomas as Director, Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan informed the Assembly on Monday.
Replying to the notice for an adjournment motion moved by Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan and others, he said the Crime Branch would investigate the allegations that Mr. Thomas had been wire-tapped and his e-mail accounts kept under surveillance.
Mr. Vijayan said Mr. Thomas had not submitted his resignation letter but only expressed his willingness to step down.
“The government wants him to continue in the post. He has been given a free hand to investigate corruption. The law will take its course,” he said.
Reacting sharply to the Opposition move to corner the government on the controversy over the phone tapping issue, the Chief Minister said Mr. Thomas had only raised a complaint with the State Police Chief based on newspaper reports about the wire-tapping and electronic surveillance on him. Eavesdropping on politicians and officials was not the government’s policy. Stern action would be taken if the investigation vindicated the media reports, he added.
Opposition walkout
The Opposition UDF walked out in protest against the Speaker’s refusal to permit a discussion on the issue. Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said the controversy unleashed by the allegations of illegal phone tapping reflected the intense power struggle in the top echelons of the police force.
Mr. Chennithala said he himself had received threats over phone from abroad for making remarks about businessman Mohammed Nisham who had been sentenced to life imprisonment for killing a security guard.
Responding to the charges, Mr. Vijayan said the bitter feud in the police force during the previous UDF regime had subsided, to be replaced by a sense of unity.
He said Mr. Thomas could have become the target of people who were being investigated by the VACB in various corruption cases.
The Chief Minister assured Mr. Chennithala that the threats received by him would be investigated.
