Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday said the investigation team probing the disruption of Thrissur Pooram has been directed to submit its report by September 24 (Tuesday).
On Friday, the state government suspended DySP M S Santhosh, the public information officer at the Kerala State Police Headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, for his response to an RTI query submitted by Manorama News regarding the probe. Talking to reporters, the chief minister said the action was taken after it was found that the officer furnished incorrect information to the RTI query, thereby defaming the government and police. In the RTI reply, Santhosh claimed no probe was conducted into the disruption of Thrissur Pooram in April despite the government announcing a probe.
The chief minister said the probe team approached the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) last week, seeking more time to complete the investigation. Earlier, the DGP, tasked with looking into the disruption case, had said that the report would come out on September 24. The chief minister also said the CMO was promptly following the progress of the investigation.
'No action against Ajith Kumar till the report arrives.'
The chief minister reiterated that no action would be initiated against ADGP M R Ajithkumar until the inquiry report is received.
"An investigation is being conducted into the allegations raised against the ADGP. Appropriate action will be taken based on the inquiry report. We (the party) are not in the habit of deputing police officers for political discussions. If an official has met with leaders of any political party or organisation and the same affects their discharging of official duties, action will be taken as per law," he said.
Responding to Opposition leader V D Satheesan's accusation that ADGP Ajith Kumar met with senior RSS leaders as the CM's intermediary, Pinarayi said: "He must have said so based on his experience of using police officers as intermediaries. However, there is no such practice in the Communist party."