Two policemen in Tamil Nadu have been suspended from service after they joined the BJP while posted on bandobust duty.
Details of suspension
According to sources, on December 27, Karthikeyan, a Special Sub Inspector, and Rajendran, a Sub Inspector, were posted on bandobust duty in the coastal Nagapattinam district when BJP state president K Annamalai had gone there as part of his ongoing roadshow ‘En Mann, En Makkal’ (My Land, My People). The two cops were attached to the Velipalayam Police Station and were on duty at Avurithidal, a small town, where the BJP had set up stalls to enroll new members.
“People were expected to give a ‘missed call’ from their mobile phone numbers to get enrolled as members of the BJP. Both Karthikeyan and Rajendran, who were in uniform, went to the stall and made ‘missed calls’ to the phone number, thereby enrolling in the political party. This is a violation of service rules,” said a senior police officer in Nagapattinam district. Sources said the act of the two policemen enrolling in the BJP was also captured on camera.
Preliminary and subsequent inquiry
A preliminary inquiry was conducted by Nagapattinam Superintendent of Police Harsh Singh the same day, and the two cops were on December 28 transferred to the Armed Reserve wing. A subsequent inquiry confirmed the charge against them, and the DGI of Thanjavur Range Jayachandran placed them under suspension as per the Tamil Nadu Subordinate Police Officers Conduct Rules, the source added.
