Kerala IPS Officer Suspended, Order Cites Leak Of Information In Kozhikode Train Arson Case

The order also said that it was necessary to suspend Vijayan from service till the investigation of the matter is over. 

The accused Saifi was arrested in Ratnagiri on April 5. ( Image Source :PTI )

The Kerala government suspended a senior IPS officer P Vijayan, the former head of the state's ATS unit, for allegedly leaking information regarding Elathur train arson case accused's transportation from Ratnagiri in Maharashtra to Kozhikode district.

The suspension order said, the action has been taken against the IPS officer based on the report submitted by ADGP Law and Order M R Ajith Kumar. The report said that the leak of the accused's transportation was a serious security failure. 

The order also said Vijayan, an Inspector General-rank officer, and Grade SI Manoj Kumar K, who were not part of the team investigating the train arson case had contacted the officers who were taking the accused to Kozhikode by road, as per a report on PTI.

The order also said that it was necessary to suspend Vijayan from service till the investigation of the matter is over. 

ADGP (Police HQ) K Padmakumar would probe the matter, the order said.

Last month, Shahrukh Saifi was brought from Maharashtra to Kozhikode. The Kerala police initially planned a strategy to bring Saifi to the state by road in a private SUV to avoid media attention. However, the plan went in vain since the vehicle suffered breakdown and they had to change to multiple vehicles before reaching the state. The team along with the accused who got stranded on the road side also had to wait even as locals gathered around them.

Saifi was arrested in Ratnagiri on April 5. He was arrested three days after the train arson incident.

The accused poured petrol on his fellow passengers and lit them when the train reached Korapuzha bridge near Elathur in Kozhikode. Three persons including a woman, an infant and a man who tried to escape by jumping out of the moving train died in the incident. 

Nine other passengers suffered burn injuries. 

The state formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Kerala police which was trusted with probing the incident.