Kochi Police Commissioner removed after lapses in Mercedes hit-and-run case; R Nishanthini takes over
The Kerala government appointed R Nishanthini as Kochi City Police Commissioner after removing Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar following severe public criticism over the mishandling of a hit-and-run case involving a judge's son
The Kerala government appointed R Nishanthini as Kochi City Police Commissioner after removing Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar following severe public criticism over the mishandling of a hit-and-run case involving a judge's son, which resulted in the tragic death of a scooter rider and the subsequent suspension of four other police officers.
The Kerala government appointed R Nishanthini as Kochi City Police Commissioner after removing Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar following severe public criticism over the mishandling of a hit-and-run case involving a judge's son, which resulted in the tragic death of a scooter rider and the subsequent suspension of four other police officers.
The Kerala government appointed R Nishanthini as Kochi City Police Commissioner after removing Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar following severe public criticism over the mishandling of a hit-and-run case involving a judge's son, which resulted in the tragic death of a scooter rider and the subsequent suspension of four other police officers.
The Kerala State government has appointed R Nishanthini as Kochi City Police Commissioner after it removed Kochi police chief Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar from his post following the controversy over the alleged mishandling of a road accident case.
The action against the police chief comes amid the increasing criticism of police lapses in the investigation against the accused in the hit-and-run case involving a 17-year-old son of an additional district court judge.
The minor drove a Mercedes-Benz and rammed a scooter, killing 55-year-old Jayabalakrishanan.
The victim’s family alleged a conspiracy to sabotage the case.
The judge allegedly got the footage deleted from the son’s phone. Investigators also recovered footage from the mobile showing the car travelling at a high speed shortly before the accident.
Four other police officers were suspended for lapses in the case in the investigation of the incident; Cheranallur CI K.S. Shyamkumar, SI V.S. Vishwajith, Grade ASI K.T. Manoj and Senior CPO Arun Joshi were suspended on Tuesday. The suspensions were announced by Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala.
ADGP P Vijayan said it was a serious lapse on the part of the police to register a case under the bailable section of the BNS against the accused teen.
The intelligence bureau also said the Kaliraj failed to intervene in the incident.
Jayabalakrishnan was a native of Manjali and ran a roadside eatery. He was returning home when his scooter was rammed into by the teen’s Benz.
Police initially registered a case under a provision relating to death by negligence based on the FIR.
However, after scrutiny, it was altered to Section 105 of the BNS, which deals with Culpable homicide, after investigators said evidence showed the car was being driven at excess speed.