Thiruvananthapuram: Inspector General (IG) G Lakshman, who had been suspended for nearly a year due to his alleged involvement in the cheating cases linked to Monson Mavunkal, has been reinstated into service. He has resumed his role as the IG of the Training Wing. His 360-day suspension was lifted following the submission of the charge sheet in court.
Earlier, the Suspension Review Committee recommended his reinstatement, citing the completion of the investigation against the official. Lakshman, a 1997 batch IPS officer from Telangana, had been under scrutiny for his alleged connections with fraudulent deals by Monson.
The Crime Branch, which probed the fake antique deals orchestrated by Monson Mavunkal, recently concluded its investigation. Although the final charge sheet was submitted, authorities were unable to trace the entire sum Monson allegedly defrauded from the complainants. Despite Lakshman and former DIG S. Surendran being named in the charge sheet, the court was informed that there was no evidence of these officials receiving money from Monson’s deals.
Lakshman was initially implicated after being found directly involved in some of Monson’s transactions. Monson convinced his victims that the Centre had frozen Rs. 2.62 lakh crore from the sale of antiques to a royal family in the Gulf. Using this pretext, he borrowed Rs. 10 crore from the complainants, claiming it was needed to lift the supposed blockade.
Lakshman was first suspended in November 2021 after a Crime Branch report confirmed his close ties with Monson. Though he was briefly reinstated in February 2023, he faced suspension again in September of the same year.
