Court raps Senkumar for dubious interference

KOCHI: Coming down heavily on Transport Commissioner T P Senkumar for unnecessarily interfering in the investigation of the LIS financial fraud case, the Ernakulam Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on Thursday dismissed a petition by the Kochi Police Commissioner seeking a directive for further investigation in the case.The court also rejected the plea of the prosecution to  postpone the examination of witnesses till receiving the final report in this  case. ‘’The move of the prosecution is ill-motivated and malafide. The petition was filed as a delaying tactic,” Magistrate B Vijayan observed.Terming the intervention by the Transport Commissioner in the case as dubious, the court said that the official and his aides were exploring the possibilities to scare the court.“It is too unbecoming on the part of Senkumar to comment on the progress of the case in which he is a witness. His conduct is likely to invite contempt of court proceedings. He is showing overenthusiasm by directing his subordinates,’’ the court further said. ‘’Now at the end of the trial, the prosecution is finding fault with the investigation. It is seen that the Commissioner of Police, Kochi city, is only a tool in the hands of Senkumar, even though he is a Transport Commissioner. Senkumar has the remote control of everything in this case. It was upon the direction by Senkumar the earlier petition was filed by the District Public Prosecutor, which was declined by this court,” the court said.  The CJM also criticised Senkumar’s selection of subordinates including Jospeh Saju, the current investigating officer of the case.The court further stated that for the last five years no pleas were filed by the prosecution at the Ernakulam CJM Court or the Kerala High Court or the Apex Court stating that investigation in the LIS case was not correct. Now, at the fag end of the trial, the evidence, deposition of witnesses and materials brought before the court are found to be not supporting.  The prosecution cannot continue the further investigation to plug the loopholes in the deposition of the witnesses during the trial, the court said.