A former IPS officer named K Radhakrishnan has recalled how he was harassed and humiliated by the CPM government and politicians for not obeying the party’s instructions regarding investigations in a murder case. In a report by the New Indian Express, Radhakrishnan has revealed how he was misbehaved by the Chief Minister too when he went to meet him.
As per the NIE report, K Radhakrishnan, a former IPS officer in Kerala, was suspended from his post in 2006 for not toeing the CPM lines in the investigation of the Muhammad Fazal murder case. The Dalit officer was reportedly falsely implicated in a case, and suspended for two years.
Was asked by CPM leaders to frame RSS people for murder
As per reports, Radhakrishnan was serving as the Deputy SP at the District Crime Records Bureau in Kannur when Mohammed Fazal, who left the CPM and joined NDF, was murdered by a gang on October 22, 2006.
He stated further, “The very next day of Fazal murder, the CPM had held a protest meeting where area secretary Karayi Rajan named four RSS workers who, he claimed, were involved in the murder. I detained all of them, recorded their statements and tracked all their activities before and after the incident. On day 2, home minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan summoned me to Payyambalam Guest House and directed me to file the charge sheet within seven days. As I was convinced that the RSS men were not involved in the murder, I released them which antagonised the CPM leadership,”
Organiser had reported that Radhakrishnan had taken some CPM men into custody for the murder, but he was attacked by CPM goons and had to be hospitalised. In the meanwhile, the case was transferred to Crime Branch. The Crime Branch had arrested 3 CPM members for the crime. After Fazal’s wife moved to High Court seeking a CBI inquiry, 4 more people, and local CPM leaders were booked for murder conspiracy. CBI had found that the allegations against RSS were wrong.
Suspended, then suspended again
Radhakrishnan, a native of Thalayolaparambu in Kottayam district, has stated, “People from my community rarely get such key posts. My ordeal proves that the scourge of caste discrimination and untouchability still continues in our society. People prefer to keep us away from the corridors of power.”
The officer has further stated that he was again suspended in 2016 over a complaint filed by a Joint Excise Commissioner saying that he submitted a false report against the officer before the High Court. Radhakrishnan was suspended for four and half years this time and was mentally harassed by government functionaries and politicians.
Radhakrishnan went to the Central Administrative Tribunal and later the Supreme Court to fight against the suspension order. Even after his suspension was revoked, he had to file a contempt of court case to finally make the Kerala government reinstate him.
CM Vijayan behaved in a rude manner
Radhakrishanan further explained that the reinstatement brought little respite for him because there were gaps in his service period. He was denied the salary for the period of suspension. A day before his retirement in 2021, he was again served 2 memos. One was regarding an alleged case of custodial torture in 2004 and another was related to the same complaint by the JEC that had got him suspended.
Radhakrishnan stated that the JEC had favoured an accused in a narcotics case and his investigation had proven him wrong. He added that the Central Administrative Tribunal had regularised his suspension period in July 2021. He states that despite that, his pleas for a provisional pension have been rejected mercilessly.
Radhakrishnan explained that he had once gone to meet CM Vijayan in 2018 in his office. He had explained his ordeal to the CM and had requested him to revoke his suspension. He had pleaded that his financial resources have dried up and he needs his salary that had been blocked by the government. He had told that if the government did not release his salary, he would have no other way but to commit suicide along with his family. To his surprise, the CM said, So be it.”
“I walked from the CM’s chamber with a heavy heart. Tears were rolling down my cheeks. I collapsed on a chair in the corridor as I was feeling giddy.”
Former IPS now works as a security officer in private company
The New Indian Express has reported that the former IPS now works as a security officer in a private company in another state. His daughter, a research scholar, now has to work part-time in her institution because the family cannot afford her hostel fees. His son has dropped out of the coaching institute where he was trying to prepare for civil services. The family have sold their ancestral property to meet expenses. A house they had lived in was reportedly auctioned by the bank because they had defaulted on loan payments.
They will kill me anytime, he said, met with an accident on 26 November
Speaking to The New Indian Express, K Radhakrishnan has stated that by speaking against the CPM, he has become a target. “They will kill me any time. I am prepared to accept my destiny. But I want to ensure the safety of my children before that,” he had stated to the news outlet on November 25.
On 26 November, TNIE journalist Raam Das shared that K Radhakrishnan has been injured in a road accident in Kochi. He has been admitted to the hospital.
