THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The latest transfer in the higher echelons of the police was effected to send a clear message to its men: Fall in line or get ready to face the ire. The timing of the shake up was the real indicator as it telegraphed the government’s intention.
Yogesh Gupta, Director General of the Fire & Rescue Services, who has been caught in the government’s crosshairs, was transferred and posted as Road Safety Commissioner, a nondescript post that rarely charms a DGP-rank officer. Yogesh was shunted out of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) which he headed for eight months before being appointed as the Fire & Rescue DG.
His fresh transfer comes even as the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) is considering his plea against the government withholding its No Objection Certificate for central deputation.
The CAT reserved its order on the plea after hearing the petitioner and the state government. Sources said the officer’s transfer, in four months after he was posted to the Fire & Rescue Services, could be anything but coincidence. The sources added that the officer was not even consulted before being moved out, which is the usual practice followed in the civil service.
“Usually, when top cops are shifted from significant posting, the government keeps them in the loop. In this case, this wasn’t followed, which is a clear indication the transfer was more of a penal action,” said a top cop not wishing to be named.
The transfer of another officer, Johnykutty K L, who was an SP with the VACB, was also noticeable for its timing. Johnykutty supervised the vigilance probe that gave a clean chit to ADGP M R Ajith Kumar on anti-corruption charges. The vigilance special court in August had slammed the investigators and rejected the report. It had ruled that the investigators were more inclined to prove the ADGP’s innocence than probing the allegations against him.
V G Vinodkumar, AIG, Law and Order, was another officer who got a boot after two women SIs accused him of workplace harassment. The Internal Complaints Cell in the police headquarters is currently conducting an inquiry on the matter. He was appointed SP Information, Communication and Technology.
Sujith Das, who was caught in a fix after former MLA P V Anvar alleged that he was behind the felling of trees from the camp house premise of the Malappuram district police chief, has been appointed AIG, procurement. He was earlier functioning as SP, ICT.