CM denies allegations, gives clean chit to Ajith Kumar; investigation to become farce

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday gave a clean chit to ADGP Ajith Kumar, dismissing the serious allegations raised against the officer by PV Anvar MLA. With this development, the police and Vigilance investigations against Ajith Kumar are likely to become a farce.

Police chief Sheikh Darvesh Sahib and Vigilance head Yogesh Gupta, who are conducting investigations into the allegations, will no longer be able to cross the Chief Minister's stance. With the Chief Minister refusing to remove Ajith Kumar from law and order duty, the message is clear on the direction in which the investigation is heading.

The Chief Minister has effectively dismissed allegations raised by PV Anwar such as stealing smuggled gold, RSS links, and accepting a 1.5 crore bribe from an online channel owner. After recording the statements of Anvar and Ajith Kumar, the DGP-led team is set to conduct a detailed investigation into the allegations. The Vigilance team is about to begin the probe into the gold-breaking and bribery allegations on Monday. The Chief Minister's stance gives a hint that even if the Vigilance team finds any evidence against Ajith Kumar, they will not be able to register a case against him without the government's permission.

The Chief Minister rejected allegations of gold smuggling at Karipur airport, claiming that these allegations were fabricated by smugglers themselves to undermine the police's morale and effectiveness. He stated that the accusations were made to serve the interests of the smugglers.

Pinarayi Vijayan stated that action will be taken as per rules if it is found that Ajith Kumar's meeting with RSS leaders affected his official duty. He also said that no police officers were assigned to hold political talks with RSS leaders. With this, the way has been paved for Ajith to avoid action against him by interpreting that he made only a personal and friendly visit and that the visit was not an abuse of office and did not affect official duties. Meanwhile, the CM has reiterated that no one will be removed from their positions in the name of mere allegations and that proper action will be taken based on the investigation report.