The arrest of a police officer by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Sunday on the charge of smuggling gold has highlighted the prevalence of ‘rogue’ enforcers within the law and order echelons of the department.
The embarrassing turn of events has prompted the Government to suspend the officer, Sub Inspector of Police (SI) Vanchiyoor, Safeer, from service on Wednesday.
Senior officers said certain persons in the political establishment had insisted on Safeer’s posting as Crime SI, Vanchiyoor, despite several cautionary reports filed by the Special Branch.
‘Tip of the iceberg’
They said the case was just the tip of the iceberg — more than 1,129 officers facing criminal cases served in different law and order capacities across the State.
An internal assessment by the State police had found that at least 380 officers faced ‘credible’ criminal charges.
The police had also reportedly blacklisted 59 officers. However, many of them had leaned on political patronage to gain important postings.
Punishment
Section 10 of the Kerala Police Enquiries, Punishment and Appeals Rules argue for the dismissal of officers facing serious charges such as rape, murder, corruption and COFEPOSA.
However, the Supreme Court had put a rider on the rule stating that the department should condition disciplinary action against errant officers on the outcome of the criminal cases against them. The State Human Rights Commission had repeatedly flagged the continuation of ‘unprincipled and felonious’ officers in law and order positions since they posed a threat to the very life and property of citizens they were sworn to protect.
However, red tape, legal issues and willingness on the part of the political establishment to shield erring law enforcers had hindered the efforts of the department to uproot ‘rogue’ officers from within its ranks.
Meanwhile, the DRI has expanded its investigation against Safeer. The agency told the court that the officer had returned with two kg of contraband gold after a ten-day vacation in Dubai.
Investigators questioned his woman co-passenger but did not press smuggling charges. The DRI had boarded the aircraft and seized the gold from beneath the seat of the accused. The agency was likely to initiate COFEPOSA provisions against the SI.
