Top Kerala police official, Director General of Police Jacob Thomas, who was asked to go on leave by the state government in April, returned on Monday but was made director of the Institute of Management in Government (IMG) - a post usually given to top police officials and bureaucrats who are shunted out from plum posts.
Before his return speculation was rife that Thomas would get back the post of vigilance chief, which he held when he went on leave for a month.
When his month long leave expired, he was asked to extend it and on Monday he got the order of his new posting.
"I will speak at the appropriate time, why I have not got the vigilance post. I will say the reason also then," Thomas told the media soon after he assumed his new post at the IMG office.
Thomas has always been in the news for the wrong reason. Since the mid 90s, he has not worn the police uniform and has been posted in non-policing jobs.
During the tenure of the Oommen Chandy government (2011-16) he was posted in the vigilance department, but after a while when his promotion to the rank of Director General came, he was moved out -- raising eyebrows, as at the time the Chandy government was shaken by the bar scam and the vigilance was probing the case.
But when Pinarayi Vijayan took over as Chief Minister in May 2016, Thomas was made the head of vigilance. Matters went smoothly for a while, but turned sour after a probe began against E.P. Jayarajan, number two in the Vijayan cabinet, who quit last year over alleged charges of nepotism.
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Thomas is currently the second senior most police official in the Kerala Police, after state police chief T.P. Senkumar, who retires on June 30.
With Senkumar retiring, Thomas expects that he will be made the state police chief, or at least get back the vigilance director post.
--IANS
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