THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The home department has exonerated a DySP, who failed to identify seven CPM workers accused of murdering Congress leader Nettayam Ramabhadran, during the trial.
The murder was committed in 2010 in Eroor police station limits. DySP B Vinod, then the Punalur CI, had probed the case as the Anchal CI was on leave. The murder was the result of a fallout of the tiff between CPM and Congress workers.
Vinod arrested the seven CPM workers. However, the case was later handed over to the CBI on the High Court’s orders. During the trial in 2023, the officer shockingly told the court that he could not identify the accused. The incident created a furore with many alleging that the officer failed to perform his duties as a police officer and acted in favour of the accused. Following this, an oral inquiry was ordered against Vinod.
The Kollam city police commissioner, who conducted the inquiry, gave a report in favour of the cop. The government accepted the findings, following which the officer was exonerated.
Vinod had argued that he failed to identify the accused as he did not get time to refresh the details.