RAMANATHAPURAM: The sudden shunting out of Ramanathapuram Superintendent of Police RV Varun Kumar on Thursday night has sparked a debate among political observers.
Adding fuel to the fire, the officer’s transfer has been kept in abeyance while Flower Bazaar Deputy Commissioner E Karthik has been posted in his place.
Varun Kumar had taken charge as SP only last November. The timing of his transfer has set tongues wagging as it came one day after he took to Twitter to clarify that there was no communal angle to a recent murder in the district.
The murder of 24-year-old Arun Prakash at Vasantha Nagar on August 31 had become controversial, with several outfits and BJP leaders alleging there was a religious motive to the murder.
On September 1, BJP national secretary H Raja, in a Twitter post, had alleged that the youth was murdered by Muslim extremists.
However, Varun Kumar categorically refuted these allegations. Ramanathapuram police has maintained that previous enmity owing to rivalry over sale of illegal drugs led to Arun Prakash’s murder.
Varun Kumar’s transfer at this juncture raised questions as to whether he was being shunted due to political pressure. However, local sources have said that his transfer has been expected for a while now.