Kochi police commissioner removed over Cheranalloor crash probe involving judge’s son

The Kerala government on Wednesday removed Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar as the District Police Chief of Kochi City. It cited alleged lapses in the investigation into a crash involving the 17-year-old son of an additional district judge.

R. Nishanthini, a 2008-batch IPS officer now serving as Inspector General of Police (South Zone), will replace him, the government said. P. Prakash, who holds charge of the State Crime Records Bureau, takes over the South Zone post.

Kumar has not been given a new posting. The order followed a report by Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) P. Vijayan, who visited the accident site, examined police records and met the victim’s family.

It came a day after four personnel of the Cheranalloor police station were suspended over the same handling. They are Station House Officer and Sub-Inspector Viswajith V.S., Circle Inspector Syam Kumar K.S., Grade Assistant Sub-Inspector Manoj K.T. and Senior Civil Police Officer Arun Joshy.

Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala announced the suspensions in the Assembly on Tuesday, and said the police had committed a “grave error” by not invoking stringent charges against the minor accused. The Times of India reported that he had reprimanded the Director General of Police over the initial FIR.

The crash

Jayabalakrishnan, 55, a roadside food vendor, was riding his scooter home in the early hours of Sunday. A Mercedes-Benz allegedly hit him from behind on Container Road near Marapparambu in Cheranalloor.

The car is registered in the name of the teenager’s father, an additional district and sessions judge. The victim died of his injuries.

The police first registered a case under Section 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with causing death by negligence. The teenager was released on station bail the same evening, Deccan Chronicle reported.

Residents and the victim’s family then staged a sit-in at the police station. The teenager was taken into custody again and booked under Section 105 of the BNS, culpable homicide not amounting to murder. He was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board, which granted him bail.

The police have since moved to cancel that bail. A preliminary report said the teenager was not under the influence of alcohol, and his blood samples were collected for analysis.

News18 reported that investigators had recovered a video that allegedly shows the teenager filming himself while driving, with the car travelling at about 104 kmph.

The investigation under scrutiny

The probe was transferred to the District Crime Branch on Monday, and the Crime Branch collected evidence late on Tuesday night. Kumar had said before his removal that the responsibility of the vehicle’s registered owner and guardian was being examined.

The inquiry team, which included an Assistant Inspector General and Circle Inspectors, examined CCTV footage. It was checking allegations that personnel at the station misbehaved with the victim’s family and delayed action against the judge.

The judge has been arraigned under Section 199A of the Motor Vehicles Act, which makes a minor’s guardian or the vehicle’s registered owner liable. He has not been arrested.

The victim’s daughter, Bhadrakeerthy, said the family would continue to fight and that she had lost faith in the police. “I will not allow the judge or his minor son to escape responsibility for my father’s death,” she told reporters.