KANNUR: The volatile Kannur politics is agog with yet another controversy now. This time, it involves some of the office-bearers of the Kerala Police Association (KPA) and flamboyant Congress leader and the MP representing the Kannur constituency K Sudhakaran and his overenthusiastic supporters.As a fall-out of the controversy, six of the office-bearers of KPA here have been placed under suspension by District Superintendent of Police Anup Kuruvila. The offence was that the association was responsible for putting up a giant flex board hailing K Sudhakaran for sanctioning Rs 10 lakh from his development funds as MP for construction of a swimming pool at the Armed Police Battalion Camp at Mangattuparamba in the district.The giant flex board carrying the life-size picture of the Congress MP was fixed just in front of the Police Parade Grounds more than three weeks ago by the district unit of the KPA, even as the Mass Contact Programme of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy was taking place there.The district police chief chose to take no action until the day of the Republic Day parade. As the R-day parade was about to begin, the DSP directed the Town Police SI to remove the flex board immediately. The board was quickly removed, but it was replaced by some other policemen a few hours later.The Town SI had also been directed to initiate an inquiry calling upon the office-bearers of the KPA to reach the police station on Thursday evening.At the same time, orders placing KPA Kannur district president K M Manoj, secretary K J Mathew, vice-president V V Manoj and executive committee members C O Pushparaj, Kottilakkandy Krishnan and former secretary N G Joseph were issued by the authorities.What provoked the district police chief was the action of some of the cops who replaced the flex board at the same spot after the Republic Day parade was over.“The association did not ask anyone to replace the flex board after the DSP had directed to remove it,” said.K J Mathew, district secretary of the KPA. The suspension orders had not stated any reason for the action taken against them except that they were to face an inquiry by the officials of the department.Meanwhile, a protest march to the District Police Office and burning of the effigy of the DSP planned by a group of Congress workers on Friday morning were cancelled at the last moment.Mediapersons too had gathered in front of the District Police Office in the morning as there was an unconfirmed report that K Sudhakaran MP himself would hold a sit-in in front of the office demanding the withdrawal of the action against the KPA office-bearers.The entire controversy took another turn with CPM district secretary P Jayarajan coming up with a statement criticising K Sudhakaran. The CPM district secretary stated that the Congress MP was politicising the police force using KPA.“He is causing indiscipline in the police force challenging the actions of the district police chief using the office-bearers of the association,” Jayarajan alleged.
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