THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A mid-level IPS officer in Kerala has landed in a soup after the senior cops took offence with his “sarcastic replies” to the official communiques from the Police Headquarters. Armed Battalion III Commandant Jayanath J was asked to present himself before a two-member panel to defend the charges of insubordination, disobedience and a little bit of sarcasm. The panel comprising Principal Tax Secretary Bishwanath Sinha and Road Safety Commissioner B Ashok, IAS, are expected to give its report in two months.
The government’s action came on the basis of a report filed by the State Police Chief who found that “the officer refused to comply with the directions of the State Police Chief on more than one occasion”. Jayanath was also charged with giving sarcastic replies to the official communiques from the Police Headquarters. The officer had earlier given his explanation, but the government was not amused.
Though the prime accusation against the 2007 batch officer is disobedience, trusted sources in the police department told TNIE that Jayanath was in the bad books for his critical views on several issues. The present action against the officer has been attributed to him seeking exemption from Sabarimala duty in 2016, the sources added.
However, the immediate trigger, it has been learnt, was a letter sent by the officer as a reply to the official communication. The sources said the officer had pointed out grammar mistakes in the communiques sent to him from the Police Headquarters. “A section of the top cops did not find it amusing. And they were rubbed the wrong way. That act is now being termed as sarcasm,” a source said.
The officer had literally created a flutter when he shot off a letter to the State Police Chief highlighting the plight of the cops, who were sent on election duty from Battalion III. The response of the cops regarding the facilities accorded to them were also included in the letter sent after the recent local body elections, the sources added.
One of the comments apparently given by a battalion member said the cops were being viewed as cattle. This comment was critical of the facilities provided by the higher-ups and that did not go down well with a section of senior officers. The letter also mentioned that the cops who face bad experiences in their initial stage of career could likely end up as rogues. This remark was about the bad experiences faced by newly recruited cops deployed for election duty.