Storyteller cop lands himself in the dock

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan directed the state's Director General of Police Loknath Behera  to register criminal cases against former vigilance director Jacob Thomas for publishing his service story without taking prior permission from government. Thomas is the senior most IPS officer in Kerala.

The Chief Minister also gave his nod to start departmental inquiry against Thomas for violating service rules and asked the chief secretary to initiate action against him.

This is the first time a senior bureaucrat is facing action for indiscipline in Kerala of this nature. Earlier, actions were taken against senior bureaucrats for drunken driving, misbehaviour or similar such misdemeanour. Thomas is currently director general, Institute of Management in  Government, Thiruvananthapuram.

IN THE DOCK

According to a senior IAS official, a three-member high-level committee scrutinised the allegations against the 1985-batch Kerala cadre officer and submitted the report to the Chief Minister; 12 counts of flouting service rules were listed."Thomas had not taken prior sanction from government for writing his service story. He has narrated many cases which are under prosecution in his book with a motive of disclosing official secrets or distorted the facts to get personal mileage," a senior bureaucrat told India Today."If convicted, he is likely to be sentenced to two years rigorous imprisonment with a fine", the official added.Earlier Kerala's finance department's audit section found Thomas had misappropriated government funds while serving as director of ports during 2011-14. But no action was taken then.

CONTROVERSIAL COP

Thomas, known across the state as a campaigner against corruption, has written two service stories while serving in the government. His first book "Swimming With the Sharks" talks about the controversial cases he had handled as a vigilance director in the Vijayan government.As the vigilance director, he had the support of the Chief Minister even when he overstepped his remit. Thanks to his numerous controversial remarks, repeated run-ins with governments and anti-corruption actions he was never popular with the ruling class.