THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The conviction of six police officers - three of them currently in service - in connection with the custodial death of Udaya Kumar has once again brought to light the sad state of affairs of the department which has to grapple criminals in the ranks.
K Jithukumar, S V Sreekumar and T Ajith Kumar have been wearing the khakhi uniform even after being indicted in a criminal case that had caught the police department off guard and red-faced.
Jithukumar and Sreekumar are now working as senior civil police officers, while Ajith Kumar is the Deputy Superintendent. E K Sabu and K P Haridas, the two other convicted, retired as superintendents.
However, it’s not just these officers who have a criminal past. As per a confidential report filed by Crime Branch ADGP Sheikh Darwesh Sahib with State Police Chief Loknath Behera, 59 officers in Police have criminal cases of grave nature pending against them. Apart from the three, who have been convicted in the Udaya Kumar case, the list also features three DYSPs while the rest are senior civil police officers and civil police officers.
Among the listed, some have ‘attempt to murder’ case pending against them while some have cases related to sexual misconduct, police sources said. Earlier, the department had revealed 1,200 officers had cases against them. However, those involved in lighter offences were weeded out resulting in a final list that had about 59 officers.
Behera had earlier told Express that he was in favour of purging the department of officers involved in serious crimes, but that has to be done in a proper manner as per service rules.
Though Behera couldn’t be contacted on Tuesday, Police sources said discussions are on among the top echelon of the department to decide on the fate of the officers named in the report.