Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan has alleged that Additional Director General of Police, Law and Order, M.R. Ajith Kumar had secretly conferred with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale in Thrissur in 2023 at Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s behest.
At a press conference, Mr. Satheesan said Mr. Kumar’s past service to Mr. Vijayan as a political agent precluded the Chief Minister from removing him from the top post. This was despite the government ordering a high-level inquiry against the ranking officer after ruling front legislator P.V. Anvar accused the ADGP of criminality, corruption, and nepotism.
Karuvannur bank case
Mr. Satheesan said that following the meeting with the RSS leader, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) quietly dropped the money-laundering probe against the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)]-controlled Karuvannur Cooperative Bank. The secret accord also forged a CPI(M)-BJP axis to defeat the United Democratic Front (UDF).
Mr. Satheesan also echoed Communist Party of India (CPI) leader V.S. Sunilkumar’s accusation that under Mr. Kumar’s watch, the police had scuttled the Thrissur Pooram to cede electoral advantage to the BJP by stoking Hindu majoritarian resentment.
Gold smuggling
Mr. Satheesan alleged that Mr. Kumar had, at the government’s bidding, attempted to coerce Swapna Suresh, the accused in the UAE gold smuggling case, into retracting her incriminating statements to the ED about the alleged role of the Chief Minister’s Office in the economic offence. He alleged that Vigilance enforcers had “abducted” Ms. Swapna’s associate to intimidate her.
“Mr. Kumar was Director, Vigilance, at the time. After the scandal erupted, the government removed Mr. Kumar from the post only to elevate him to ADGP, Law and Order,” Mr. Satheesan said.
‘Probe, a sham’
He questioned the integrity of the special team constituted to probe Mr. Anvar’s accusations against Mr. Kumar when the ranking officer continued in the top law and order post. “How can a subordinate officer investigate his senior? Mr. Anvar had accused the police of profiting from ambushing gold smugglers and drug peddling and held them responsible, under Mr. Kumar’s watch, for two murders, one disappearance, and an incident of illegal tree felling. The high-level probe is a sham to pull the wool over the public’s eye,” he said.
Mr. Satheesan said Mr. Vijayan has no choice but to protect his confidants — his political secretary P. Sasi and Mr. Kumar. He added that the UDF would not settle for anything less than a CBI probe against Mr. Kumar. He said Opposition workers would lay siege to the Secretariat to press the UDF’s demand.
Published - September 04, 2024 07:41 pm IST
