Cop suspended for altering minister's route makes it to CM's honours list

Thiruvananthapuram: The police officer who was suspended alleging that he misled the official vehicle of Minister P Rajeev has bagged the Kerala Chief Minister’s police medal for excellent service the very next day!

Control room Grade Sub Inspector S S Saburajan was suspended on Friday night, and the medal list released on Saturday carried his name.

The City Police Commissioner had suspended Saburajan and senior civil police officer N G Sunil, alleging that they changed the travel route of the minister in the city.

The minister’s vehicle was redirected from the usual route in Thiruvananthapuram city when he returned to Ernakulam from Neyyattinkara on Friday.

The suspended officers have explained that had redirected the minister's car to a better route after avoiding a route with several potholes and heavy traffic.

However, minister Rajeev said he didn’t complain regarding the alteration of the travel route. Later it was revealed that the action was taken following the complaint registered by the minister’s gunman over the phone.

"No one, including myself complained about the diversion. Let the police take a decision on their own," the minister clarified.

The action against the SI was taken by the Commissioner based on the report of the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Control Room)

"The route deviation caused inconvenience to the minister. He was upset," states the report.

G Sparjan Kumar, Thiruvananthapuram City Police Commissioner, promised to review the action. "Altering the route of a minister is not a grave issue. The officers were sidelined as part of the investigation. The action will be reassessed after speaking to the officers and complainants," the Commissioner said.