Former State Police Chief (SPC) T.P. Senkumar is in the spotlight again. This time around it is for an alleged remark on the relatively ‘high birth’ rate in the Muslim community in Kerala.
A Malayalam weekly had attributed the controversial comment to Mr. Senkumar in what it claimed was a published transcript of the interview the officer had given to its reporter soon after his retirement. The controversial comment, widely perceived as awkward and untimely, has cast him in the centre of a raging political controversy. It has also made him the subject of a police inquiry on the suspicion of having attempted to foment discord between people of different faiths.
The observation drew national attention when Dushyant Dave, the senior lawyer who famously defended Mr. Senkumar for free in the Supreme Court, told a news channel that he would not have appeared for the former SPC had he known about his “saffron inclinations”.
The remark earned Mr. Senkumar brickbats and bouquets in almost equal measure. He was chastised in the social media for becoming a town crier and poster boy for the Hindu right wing. He was equally hailed as a truth teller and patriot.
Denies charge
Mr. Senkumar told The Hindu that he had not given any interview to the weekly. Its reporter had surreptitiously recorded their private conversation and reported it out of context. He has served the publication a legal notice for the damage caused.
