The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Kochi City, G. Poonguzhali has been asked to inquire into and submit a detailed report on the telephonic spat between Kalamasserry Sub Inspector Amruth Rangan and CPI(M) Kalamasserry area secretary Zakir Hussain, an audio clip of which had gone viral in the social media.
The Deputy Inspector General and Additional City Commissioner K.P. Philip has entrusted Ms. Poonguzhali with the task. She has been asked to submit the report within three days, it is learned. As of now no department-level action has been initiated against Mr. Rangan.
The audio clip of the telephone call made by Mr. Hussain to Mr. Rangan over the latter’s alleged mistreatment of Students Federation of India (SFI) district president Amal Jose during a skirmish on the Cochin University of Science and Technology campus on Tuesday had kicked up quite a row after it had gone viral in the social media on Wednesday.
The five-minute-long clip has Mr. Hussain accusing the officer of having no positive image among the public and political workers. Mr. Rangan denied the accusations and argued that he had only removed the SFI leader from the scene and dropped him at the student amenity centre to defuse the tension.
At one point, Mr. Hussain is heard asking the officer to understand the politics in Kalamassery to which Mr. Rangan said the political colour of the place hardly matters to him. Mr. Hussain later told The Hindu that he had not threatened the officer with transfer but had been very polite with him and accused the officer of leaking the audio clip of the conversation, which was inappropriate for a police officer to do.