KOCHI: The Advocate General’s office has been dragged into a controversy after two senior staff members assaulted and hurled casteist slurs at a Scheduled Tribe (ST) youth working in the same office.
A case was registered against the two officers at the Advocate General’s office on a complaint filed by an attendant there. But the complaint was later withdrawn at the insistence of the accused who allegedly put pressure on the complainant.
Advocate General K Gopalakrishna Kurup said there was an issue between two staff members at the office and they had settled it among themselves. “A departmental inquiry is on and the necessary action will be taken in due course,” he told TNIE.
Police said the two staff members at the AG’s office, Section Officer Ajesh P B and PRO Dayal K K, were charged under IPC sections 341, 323 and various sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (Amendment Act 2015). As per the complaint, Ajesh threatened and intimidated complainant Nandu K on on May 21 for failure to attend to his phone calls. Ajesh also slapped him, and Nandu fell down. He was taken to General Hospital, Ernakulam and later to the Medical Trust Hospital.
‘Issue settled after officers approached my family’
The prosecution report, which was submitted in the Sessions Court when the anticipatory bail applications of the two officers were taken up for hearing, said Ajesh and Dayal allegedly insulted Nandu stating that he secured the job on account of reservation, and also humiliated him by referring to the name of his tribe. The report says, “though the accused humiliated him on several occasions, he could not raise a complaint as they are influential persons.” Ajesh and Dayal pleaded innocent before the court, submitting that they had no knowledge about Nandu’s tribe.
“His behaviour to colleagues is very bad. On the day of the incident, there was a complaint against him that he misbehaved with a lady officer. When Ajesh intervened and warned him, Nandu attacked and also showed disrespect to Dayal,” they alleged.
They also produced the petitions of their colleagues, including that of the lady officer, to prove their claims. But Nandu denied the charges in the petitions as false. When contacted, Nandu told TNIE that the issue was settled after the two officers approached him and his family members. “They assured us that they won’t harass or humiliate me again,” he added.