The Chief Minister's Office (CMO) denied the claims that the meeting had any special agenda and said such meetings are routine and integral to daily office operations.
Published Oct 06, 2024 | 3:15 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 06, 2024 | 10:37 PM
Pinarayi Vijayan (Screengrab)
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday, 5 October, convened a meeting at his official residence, the Cliff House, in Thiruvananthapuram.
The meeting was attended by his political secretary P Sashi, additional private secretary CM Ravindran, and private secretary KK Ragesh.
It assumed significance since Kerala Director General of Public (DGP) Sheikh Darvesh Sahib submitted a report on the allegations against Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) (Law and Order) MR Ajith Kumar to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday.
Though the CM’s office denied the claims that the meeting had any special agenda, it has now been revealed that Ajith Kumar has been removed from his law and order responsibilities but will retain his position as the in-charge of the AP Battalion.
Meanwhile, Manoj Abraham, currently the head of intelligence, is set to assume the law and order role.
The inquiry on Ajith Kumar was carried out by a group of five high-ranking police officials, including the DGP, Inspector General (IG) Sparjan Kumar, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Thomson Joseph, and Superintendent of Police (SP) Madhusoodanan and Shanavas.
The findings of the report indicated that Ajith Kumar had indeed met with RSS leaders, which the ADGP characterised as a personal and amicable interaction.
However, the report cleared him of any misconduct in relation to the investigations of cases such as the Ridan murder and the Mami missing persons case. Earlier, Vijayan had mentioned that any measures against Ajith Kumar would only be considered after the DGP submitted the report.
It is important to note that the CMO had, earlier, condemned the media narratives about the meeting on Sunday and claimed that those were unethical reporting.
The team was constituted after Independednt MLA PV Anvar alleged a meeting between Ajith Kumar and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders Dattatreya Hosabale and Ram Madhav ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Following that, on 25 September, the chief minister directed the DGP to probe the matter. Ajith Kumar is also alleged to have caused disruptions to the Thrissur Pooram.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil)
