The government has asked the Crime Branch to investigate Director General of Police Jacob Thomas on the charge of having acquired ill-gotten wealth in the name of other persons.
In November 2019, the government had received a complaint from one Sathyan Naravoor in Kannur that Mr. Thomas, the senior-most ranking police officer in Kerala, had acquired properties in the name of his nominees.
He demanded that the police investigate Mr. Thomas under the provisions of the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 (PBPT Act, 1988).
Subsequently, the government transferred the case to the Crime Branch.
The agency recommended an inquiry by a competent officer.
Consequently, the government tasked the SP, CB, Thiruvananthapuram, to probe the complaint.
Punishable up to 7 years
It set December 31, 2020 as the deadline for submitting the inquiry report. The law carries a punishment of up to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and fine.
Mr. Thomas, who was handpicked by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to head the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau in 2016, fell out with the government after the agency booked Industries Minister E.P. Jayarajan on the charge of nepotism.
Mr. Thomas had also earned the ire of the High Court for purportedly running a “Vigilance Raj” in Kerala by letting officers off the leash to register anti-corruption cases against government officials without justification. Later, the government passed over Mr. Thomas for the post of State Police Chief. His criticism that the government had responded poorly to the Ockhi Cyclone disaster in 2017 earned him a suspension.
Later, the government took Mr. Thomas to task for publishing a controversial service story without submitting the draft for vetting.
It also soon booked Mr. Thomas on charges of conspiracy, corruption, and bid-rigging in the procurement of costly dredging equipment when he was Director of Ports during the 2011-12 period.
