Kerala top cop suspended for foreign trip sans permission

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - Inspector General of Police (Kannur) Tomin J. Thachenkery has been suspended for allegedly going on a foreign trip without permission from the Kerala government, officials said Saturday.

The suspension order was signed by Chief Secretary Rudra Gangadharan after Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan reportedly put his foot down.

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 leaders were 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 found that he had gone abroad on short leave. The chief minister immediately ordered an inquiry.

Thachenkery was earlier suspended in July 2007 in the wake of a first information report (FIR) filed in a vigilance court accusing him 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.