The State police are unlikely to initiate any punitive steps on their own against police officers who baton-charged Communist Party of India (CPI) workers who staged an impromptu march to the office of the Inspector General of Police, Ernakulam, last month.
The clash had resulted in injuries to CPI legislator from Muvattupuzha Eldo Abraham, district secretary P. Raju, and 20 other party workers.
State Police Chief Loknath Behera, who vetted the Collector’s conclusions, reportedly found no incriminating evidence against the officers, a government official privy to the matter said.
The action lasted 18 seconds. The Collector as the district magistrate had found no illegality in the measures adopted by the police to disperse protesters who threatened to storm the IG’s office.
Onus on government
The SPC forwarded the report to the government with no additions or deletions. The ball was now in the government’s court, he said.
Another official said the police were unaware of the march till the last minute. They had little time to contact the organisers to head-off a possible violent confrontation on the street with law enforcers.
The police-CPI confrontation had hit the headlines and strained the party’s bond with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) within the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF).
CPI State secretary Kanam Rajendran had reportedly found himself under fire within his own party for allegedly having failed to condemn the police action strongly.
The government had tasked the District Collector, Ernakulam, to conduct an inquiry at the insistence of CPI Ministers in the Cabinet.
Probe ordered
In an attempt to strike a detente with the CPI leadership, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had reportedly submitted to their demand for a probe by the district magistrate instead of one by the law enforcement itself.
The CPI held the Revenue portfolio, and several of its leaders had demanded exemplary action against the officers responsible for the “brutal police action”.
The CPI had organised the march to object the “partisan manner” in which the police handled a stand-off between student affiliates of the CPI and the CPI(M) in the locality.