The Kerala government on Friday placed senior IPS officer and Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) M R Ajith Kumar under suspension, holding that the allegations against him were supported by the statements of multiple investigating officers and that his continuance in service could affect the fairness of the inquiry.
Chief Secretary Bishwanath Sinha on Friday issued the suspension order, a day after approving disciplinary proceedings against him for alleged interference in the probe into the assault of Youth Congress workers in Alappuzha. The order invokes Rule 3(1) of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969, citing that his continuation in service would compromise the fairness of the ongoing inquiry.
The disciplinary action is based on a damning report by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by SP Shoukath Ali. The investigation revealed that Ajith Kumar used his official position to derail the case involving the brutal assault of Youth Congress and KSU workers by the personal security staff of former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan during the Nava Kerala Sadas in 2023.
According to the order, the progress report submitted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by Crime Branch SP Shoukath Ali, revealed that the former ADGP (Law and Order) heavily pressured previous investigators.
“The office of the then ADGP (Law and Order), M R Ajith Kumar, IPS, had influenced the course of the investigation and shaped it in a way that ultimately resulted in the case being closed with a refer report. The earlier investigating officers alleged that they had been pressured to steer the case towards such a report,” the suspension order said.
The order noted that allegations of undue influence were not isolated. They are heavily corroborated by written statements from multiple investigating officers, including Inspector KP Tomson and Deputy SPs Arun KS and Sunil Raj.
Rejecting the defence presented by Ajith Kumar, the government noted that the supervisory powers granted to officers under Section 36 of the Code of Criminal Procedure must be exercised lawfully and strictly to ensure justice.
“Under Section 36 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a supervisory officer may intervene in an investigation by exercising the powers of the Station House Officer. Such intervention should be lawful and to ensure justice. Here, the intervention by Ajith Kumar, IPS, was not in accordance with law and, more importantly, it led to injustice to the victims and protection for the accused from legal action,” the order said.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) found that Ajith Kumar actively undermined the investigation. He summoned the investigating officers to his office and forced them to manipulate the case diaries. Additionally, key evidence, including forensic data and witness statements, was altered to shield the accused security personnel from accountability. The SIT report concluded that his intervention was a deliberate attempt to weaken the prosecution’s case before it reached the court.
The decisive suspension order comes just days before July 31, 2026, when Ajith Kumar was scheduled to be promoted to the prestigious rank of DGP. Under standard service rules, active disciplinary proceedings automatically freeze career advancements
At the time of suspension, he was serving as the Managing Director of the Kerala State Beverages Corporation (BEVCO), a post he was moved to after being sidelined from law and order duties.
During the 2023 Nava Kerala Yatra in Alappuzha, Youth Congress and KSU activists held a black-flag protest. Members of then Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s security team allegedly stepped out of their escort vehicles and brutally assaulted the protesters, who included current Alappuzha MLA A D Thomas and Youth Congress leader Ajay Juel Kuriakose, with lathis.
Pinarayi Vijayan defended the security team, publicly claiming their aggressive actions were a vital “rescue operation” to safeguard his life. The Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted after the UDF government assumed power to reinvestigate the case, has in its report thoroughly rejected this defence, stating local police had already successfully cordoned off and contained the protesters, leaving the CM’s personal security personnel with absolutely no operational justification to intervene.
The SIT concluded that the accused personnel were explicitly unauthorised to carry or use lathis, and that hitting protesters on the head constituted a clear intent to commit murder.
Though the Alappuzha Magistrate Court had ordered a re-investigation on November 8, 2024, rejecting a Crime Branch report clearing the accused gunmen, the previous administration left the file untouched. The new UDF government has decided to re-investigate the incident, known as the “rescue operation”. Accordingly, the Kerala Police has constituted a six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by Alappuzha Crime Branch Superintendent of Police (SP) A P Shoukath Ali, to re-investigate the ‘rescue operation’ that took place in Alappuzha during the Nava Kerala Sadas.