Thaindian News

Thiruvananthapuram, April 16 (IANS) Kerala’s Inspector General of Police Kannur Tomin J. Thachenkery was shifted from his post Friday after Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan received a report that he had violated rules by going on a foreign trip without permission.
Sudheesh Kumar has been appointed as the new inspector general, while Thachenkery is yet to get a new posting.

This decision came hours after Achuthanandan told reporters here that he got a report Wednesday from Additional Director General of Police Siby Mathew, whom he had asked to probe the matter after learning that Thachenkery had gone abroad, and a report from state Director General of Police Jacob Punnoose Friday.

The chief minister confirmed that both the reports had indicted Thachenkery for violating rules by going on a foreign trip without taking permission.

“A decision on the report will be taken soon and it can happen anytime,” said Achuthanandan.

Thachenkery, considered close to Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, was in the Middle East last week - the same time Vijayan and other senior party men were touring there as part of a fund collection drive.

On a visit to north Kerala last week, Achuthanandan was peeved when he did not find Thachenkery and on asking, found he had gone abroad on a short leave. The chief minister immediately asked Mathew to conduct an inquiry.

The issue had caused a major political storm with the Congress-led opposition Wednesday demanding action against Thachenkery.

Thachenkery was also in news in July 2007 when he was suspended by Achuthanandan in the wake of a first information report (FIR) filed in a vigilance court, accusing the cop of amassing assets worth Rs.9.5 million between Jan 1, 2003, and March 31, 2005, when he was managing director of the state-owned Books and Publication Society.