Thursday, Oct 03, 2013
Thiruvananthapuram: It is rare that a police constable can put a government and his own bosses in a fix at the same time. Such an unlikely drama is playing out in Kerala, where the high court has had to step in and ask whether the police top brass is afraid of the constable.
The man at the centre of the controversy, Salim Raj, is a former gunman for none less than chief minister Oommen Chandy. He was suspended after being linked to the solar power scam accused, Biju Radhakrishnan and Saritha S. Nair.
The quick suspension temporarily kept Raj out of media limelight, but the constable hogged the limelight again when he and some associates allegedly attempted to abduct a couple in Kozhikode in broad daylight in September. He was caught by local residents and handed over to the police.
The 42-year-old constable, now dubbed “Super chief minister of Kerala” has brought further embarrassment to the government and police, with High Court Justice Harul-ul-Rashid asking whether the director-general of police [DGP] was afraid of Raj.
Senior high court advocate Ramkumar said in a television discussion that it was a real shock that a judge as soft-spoken as Harul-ul-Rashid had made such a comment against the police and the government.
The court’s tart observation has also led to political debates about the real clout that the former gunman continues to wield in the CM’s office, in government and in the police establishment.
The high court itself was baffled why the DGP, K.S. Balasubramanian would forward a complaint against the constable to the state government instead of ordering an inquiry into it. Forwarding of a complaint by the DGP to the state government is seen as going against the provisions of the criminal procedure code.
Salim Raj has been Chandy’s official gunman since 2005, and was in 2009 inducted into the CM’s security team despite some adverse intelligence reports. Raj is also among three members of the CM’s office who were suspended in the wake of the solar scam, the other two being Tenny Joppan and Jikumon Jacob.
The recent arrest of one Fayaz, on charges of smuggling large quantities of gold into the country through different airports, and reports of his links to staff in the CM’s office, has earned him the nickname “gold-mon”, following on the “gun-mon” sobriquet given to Salim Raj.
Defending the government after the adverse court observation in Salim Raj’s case, minister K. Babu said one should not forget that Raj is presently in jail, which shows the government’s commitment to bringing wrongdoers to book.
However, the opposition was quick to point out that Babu should not forget that Raj was not nabbed by police, but by ordinary people on the road who prevented an abduction attempt by Raj and his friends.
Opposition leader V.S. Achuthanandan alleged that Salim Raj was above the chief minister, the chief secretary and all ministers.
Raj is facing charges of land grabbing, abduction and alteration of records. Even as he faces multiple cases, the state government and the police establishment have also been put in a fix, having to answer how a constable came to exercise so much power.
By Akhel Mathew Correspondent
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
