17 Kerala cops promoted to IPS; Sojan misses the bus
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Seventeen officers from the state police have been elevated to the Indian Police Service (IPS) for the select lists of 2021 and 2022, while M J Sojan, who was caught in the eye of the storm after the mother of the Walayar rape-murder victims strongly objected to his promotion to the coveted rank, has missed the bus.
Sojan and two other officers were in the short-list, but since criminal proceedings are pending against him, and department-level disciplinary proceedings are pending against the other two -- Kishore Kumar J and A Nasim – their promotion has been put on hold. They will be promoted when the state police issue integrity certificate to them.
The officers who have been promoted are K K Markose, A Abdul Rashi, P C Sajeevan, V G Vinod Kumar, P A Mohammed Arif, A Shanawaz, S Deva Manohar, Mohamed Shafi K, B Krishna Kumar, K Salim, T K Subrahmannian, Mahesh Das, K K Moideenkutty, S R Jyothishkumar, V D Vijayan, P Vahid and Mohanachandran Nair M P.
The first 12 are from the 2021 list, while the rest are from the 2022 select list. Apart from Shafi, Krishnakumar, Subrahmannian, Moideenkutty and Vahid, the rest have already retired. However, they will be reinstated and allowed to serve until they turn 60. The promoted officers will remain on probation for one year and undergo induction training. Sojan, who had probed the Walayar case initially, was included in the short-list based on his seniority. However, as he has criminal proceedings pending against him, the promotion has been kept in abeyance.
The mother of the two girls, who were found dead after being subjected to rape, had moved court against Sojan’s promotion. It was the controversial statement allegedly made by him regarding the Walayar victims that landed him in soup as the victims’ relative filed a complaint against him alleging that he had committed an offence under the Pocso (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act. Apart from that, two other complaints are pending against Sojan and this too affected his prospects.
MERIT LIST
Officers who have been conferred with IPS are K K Markose, A Abdul Rashi, P C Sajeevan, V G Vinod Kumar, P A Mohammed Arif, A Shanawaz, S Deva Manohar, Mohamed Shafi K, B Krishna Kumar, K Salim, T K Subrahmannian, Mahesh Das, K K Moideenkutty, S R Jyothishkumar, V D Vijayan, P Vahid and Mohanachandran Nair M P