Kerala IPS Officer MR Ajithkumar Suspended For Interfering In Assault Probe

The Kerala government has suspended senior IPS officer MR Ajithkumar, holding that he interfered in the investigation into the assault on Youth Congress and KSU workers by gunmen of former chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan during the Nava Kerala Sadas programme in Alappuzha in December 2023, allowing the accused to escape legal action.

The suspension order, issued on July 24, is based on a progress report submitted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which was constituted by the UDF government in May to reinvestigate the case. Ajithkumar, a 1995-batch IPS officer and currently Chairman and Managing Director of the Kerala State Beverages Corporation, has been placed under suspension pending disciplinary proceedings.

According to the government order, the State Police Chief found that the course of the investigation was altered due to undue influence from the office of the then ADGP (Law and Order), a post held by Ajithkumar. The order says the probe was steered towards a referable report, enabling those accused in the case to avoid prosecution.

The government relied on statements given to the SIT by three officers who handled the investigation earlier. Inspector KP Tomson said the then ADGP examined the case diary, questioned the direction of the probe and expressed dissatisfaction with findings that pointed to the involvement of members of then Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's security team.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Sunilraj also told the SIT that messages conveyed through senior officers suggested the case against the Chief Minister's personal security officer should be referred quickly, indicating attempts to influence the investigation. The SIT further found that two officers attached to the ADGP's office played multiple roles in the investigation that ended in the refer report.

Ajithkumar denied all wrongdoing in his reply to the government, maintaining that he had not improperly interfered in the investigation. He questioned the SIT's findings and sought copies of documents and an opportunity to verify the statements recorded from the investigating officers before submitting a detailed response. The State Police Chief, however, found his explanation unsatisfactory.

The case relates to the December 15, 2023 incident in Alappuzha, where KSU and Youth Congress workers said they were assaulted by members of then Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's security detail after waving black flags at the Nava Kerala Sadas convoy. Vijayan had described the actions of his security personnel as a rescue operation.

The Crime Branch had filed a refer report in October 2024, clearing the security personnel, but a magistrate court rejected it the following month. After the change in government, the SIT reopened the probe, named five members of the former Chief Minister's escort team as accused and suspended five police personnel, including Vijayan's former gunman.