THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After the launch of Operation Kuber by the state police to clamp down on loan sharks, the investigating officials are now getting complaints against illegal moneylenders in uniform.
DGP K S Balasubramanian confirmed that at least five complaints were filed by the public against police officials, linking them to the illegal moneylending racket. These police officials are suspected to be supporters of the blade mafia in the state. “We have received four to five complaints against the police officials,” he said.
“Investigations have begun against the officials and they would be brought under the law. If the officials are directly involved, they will be charged under the Kerala Money-lenders Act and Exorbitant Interest Act and will face departmental disciplinary action,” he said.
During the raids conducted as part of Operation Kuber, police had seized Rs 1 lakh cash from the house of Jayachandran, head warden of Alappuzha district jail, near Medical College Hospital here. Other than the money, police had seized a sword and various documents, including 11 vehicle registration certificates and 16 title deeds, from there.
Operation Kuber, launched in the wake of the suicide of a five-member family near Kizhakkemukkolakkal here, had kicked off a series of raids across the State. These raids were conducted on the basis of information and complaints submitted by the public against the blade mafia. Around 4,904 state-wide raids were conducted in order to control the blade mafia. While the involvement of police officials in such a racket may come as shocking, this is certainly not the first instance. The Police Department had ended up suspending around five of its men after the hyped Operation Blade launched last year. The policemen were suspected of assisting the loan sharks.
“They were suspected to be informers of the blade mafia. The officials were deliberately avoided from the squads which took out the raids last year. This contributed to the success of the raids,” a senior police official said. The police had formed separate squads for conducting raids and investigation as part of Operation Blade. These squads were formed just before the time of action to avoid leakage of information.