THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: State police chief Loknath Behera has ordered a Crime Branch investigation against former police chief T P Senkumar into the complaints on hurting religious sentiments in an interview given by the latter to Samakalika Malayalam weekly. The Crime Branch probe will be overseen by ADGP (crimes) Nitin Agarwal.
Sources said the Crime Branch has registered a case against Senkumar. The DGP ordered the investigation on Wednesday based on the recommendation from Advocate General (AG) C P Sudhakara Prasad to register a case against Senkumar. The AG had reportedly recommended to Behera there were sufficient grounds for initiating a case against Senkumar for his remarks that are likely to spread enmity between different religious communities.
Behera, the other day, had sought advice from the AG on initiating a probe against Senkumar on his remarks. Earlier, SIO state secretary K P Thoufeeq and Kerala Congress (PC Thomas faction) leader A H Hafeez had lodged a complaint before the DGP to register a case against Senkumar as his remarks could incite communal violence. Apart from these, the DGP received seven more complaints from various Muslim organisations. In his interview, Senkumar had said the Muslim community should make attempts to check religious extremism from within. He had said there was ‘no sense’ talking about the RSS while discussing terrorism.
The Muslim community should not understand jihad the way it is being understood by them now and ‘love jihad’ is still being practised by a section of the Muslim population in the state, Senkumar had said.
Senkumar had also reiterated his stance on the matter at a function organised by BJP mouthpiece Janmabhumi last Sunday.