COIMBATORE: When he was the top police officer in the western region serving as the Inspector General of Police three years ago, Pramod
Kumar had journalists calling on him to get information about accused in criminal cases. But on Thursday, as Kumar was being escorted to a court here, press photographers and cameramen jostled to ‘capture’ the “accused” in the right frame leaving him red faced. An angry Kumar pushed away some cameramen, who got too close to him and screamed at them. Once inside the court, Kumar told the judge that the CBI had failed to protect him. “The public were trying to assault me at the hospital and at the court.
When the judge enquired whether he had suffered any injury in the scuffle, Kumar said “No. But that does not mean I was not assaulted.” The public prosecutor was taken aback by the allegation and did not respond to it prompting a CBI officer, who was present, to deny the charge. “Only because of the CBI there are so many cops to give protection,” the officer said. He also questioned Kumar’s lawyer Sandeep how his client could raise “baseless” allegations.