No cop transferred over clash with left activists at Pettah police station, says Commissioner

Thiruvananthapuram: A recent face-off of the police personnel at the Pettah police station here with CPM activists has landed the authorities in a piquant spot.

It was earlier reported that a few cops would be served transfer orders for clashing with left activists who barged into the police station over a spat with a DYFI leader after he was penalised for the helmetless ride.

Now, the Thiruvananthapuram City Police Commissioner, C H Nagaraju, has come out with a statement that no police officers had been transferred in connection with the incident.

The propaganda that the officers had been transferred was incorrect. It was not proper for the officers to continue to serve in the Pettah police station as an investigation was going on against them. Therefore, they were only kept off duty for two days, the Commissioner claimed.

CPM leaders, including the party’s Thiruvananthapuram district secretary, V Joy, had staged a protest before the police station.

Cops trash Commissioner's claim
However, policemen themselves say that the claim of the Commissioner and the orders received by the officers do not concur. Two Sub-Inspectors (SIs) of the Pettah police station, S Aseem and M Abhilash, were transferred to the District Crime Branch by the Commissioner.

The orders issued on August 23 were received by the officials yesterday (August 24).

Police driver, M Mithun, was transferred to the Armed Reserve camp.

The spat
The ugly spat between the cops and CPM activists arose on Tuesday evening soon after V Nidhin, the Vanchiyoor block treasurer of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), was stopped by the SIs on the Oruvathilkotta road and asked to pay the fine for not wearing a helmet.

Later, Nidhin reached the police station around 6 p.m. on the same day along with a few CPM leaders, alleging that the SI had abused and assaulted him. They blocked the jeep in which the SIs had reached the station. This led to an exchange of abuse and fisticuffs between the protesters and the police. The police made a baton charge and chased away the protesters. It was following this that the party district secretary, V Joy, reached the police station. After appealing to the party workers to remain calm, he chided the police officers.

An investigation under E Balakrishnan, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Narcotics wing), is progressing in this regard. The Police Commissioner has ordered him to submit the report as soon as possible.

Sources say there is pressure on the police to submit a report that would not trouble the CPM.

The statements of SIs, Abhilash and Aseem, who have been removed from duty, were recorded on Wednesday.

Nidhin claims assault; police deny charge

Nidhin, meanwhile, has complained that he was assaulted with an iron rod at the Pettah police station. The investigators, however, said that the CCTV footage doesn't prove his claim.

The footage shows CPM activists coming as an organised group and attempting to barge into the police station and the police personnel trying to chase them away. Finally, the police managed to push the protesters beyond the road median.