Kochi City Police Commissioner Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar was transferred on Wednesday in view of alleged lapses in Kochi Mercedes-Benz car crash case investigation. R Nishanthini, a 2008-batch IPS officer, was appointed as the new city police commissioner.
The failure to apply the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against the accused resulted in the minor being released on station bail and later being granted by the juvenile magistrate. The action comes one day after four officers, including a circle inspector, attached to the Cheranalloor police station were suspended in connection with the investigation. The accused’s father, an additional district judge, has been charged under the Motor Vehicles Act but has not been arrested yet.
Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala told the Assembly on Tuesday that the police had committed a “grave error” by failing to invoke stringent charges against the minor accused in the crash case.
He submitted a report to the Home Department highlighting lapses by the police during the preliminary probe. ADGP (Law and Order) P Vijayan visited the accident site and held discussions with the victim’s family in Kochi on Tuesday.
About the case
A 17-year-old allegedly rammed his Mercedes Benz into a scooter, killing its rider in Keralam’s Kochi in the early hours of Sunday. The victim was identified as Jayabalakrishnan (55), a resident of Manjali, who operated a street food cart in the Chittor area of Kochi, said officers. Mahesh Kumar was found to have failed to intervene effectively in the investigation and take stringent action against the accused. Following the incident, police took the teenager into custody.
The accused is the son of an additional district judge, and the car is registered in the judge’s name, according to police.
