Thiruvananthapuram: Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala demanded a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into the incident where rifles and cartridges went missing from the possession of Kerala police.
Alleging criminal conspiracy behind the incident, Ramesh Chennithala demanded to remove DGP Loknath Behera from the post.
The matter must be taken very seriously as such an incident has never happened anywhere in the country, said Ramesh Chennithala. “What has come out is the corruption in police department. But when asked about it in the Assembly, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was not ready to answer properly,” he alleged.
Stating that the incident was a matter of national security, Ramesh Chennithala alleged that the CM is trying to whitewash the DGP. He also questioned why the CM was protecting the DGP.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India had found shortage of 5.56 mm INSAS rifles and 12,061 live cartridges in a joint verification held in the Special Armed Police Battalion (SAPB) in Thiruvananthapuram.
The report on General and Social sector for the year ending March 31, 2018, was tabled in the Kerala Assembly on Wednesday. The CAG also found that five police stations in the state did not even have a vehicle. The report also mentioned that the Thrissur police academy was short of 200 cartridges.