THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The police department has initiated measures to move a petition in the High Court, seeking cancellation of the bail granted to I P Binu, a CPM leader accused of attacking enforcement directorate officers during a raid at Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan’s residence, after a video clip of him and other co-accused celebrating Onam on the Museum police station premises on Saturday went viral.
Highly placed sources told TNIE that since the reel was posted on Binu’s social media handle, the police will be seeking the cancellation of just his bail. The police version is that Binu violated the bail conditions set by the HC by indulging in video shooting at the station to showcase his hold in the police department. This, sources said, can be construed as an attempt to intimidate victims.
Meanwhile, City Police Commissioner Arul R B Krishna has filed a preliminary report with the higher-ups on the incident. The report, sources said, highlighted that the cops on duty at the station failed to maintain caution, allowing Binu and others to engage in various activities, such as using the swing installed in front of the station and playing the drum.
However, the report maintained that there was no evidence that the accused came to the station on the invitation of any cops. They came to the station to sign on the police register, which is stipulated in their bail conditions. There were allegations that some of the accused wore matching shirts that were indeed gifted by the cops at the station.
This turned out to be false as all the 68 shirts purchased for the cops by a policeman were found to be still with them. The shirt worn by Binu was found to be having a colour shade different to what the cops wore.
SHO R Prashanth was out on permission till 11 am and the incident occurred before he was back in the station, it was reported. It should be noted that Prashanth is the president of the Kerala Police Officers Association (KPOA) and has been known to be aligned with the CPM.
The special branch is learnt to have conducted a preliminary inquiry in which they said the cops failed to foresee such a situation developing. “Apart from signing the register, Binu had to give a statement before the cops regarding his mobile phone that was seized. Because of that, the accused stayed together and made merry on the station premises. The incident has affected the reputation of the police,” a senior cop said.
A high-level inquiry will be announced to probe the entire aspects of the episode, including all the allegations levelled against the cops attached to the station.