A departmental inquiry has been initiated against a Kerala police constable who allegedly leaked police data about leaders of the RSS and BJP to a member of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political arm of the Popular Front of India (PFI).
Last week, constable P K Anas, attached to the Karimannoor police station in Idukki district, was suspended after an investigation into the alleged sharing of the details with a local SDPI member who was arrested in connection with an attack on a bus conductor.
The police data leak assumes significance against the backdrop of mounting tensions between the Sangh Parivar and SDPI/PFI in Kerala.
“We have suspended him, but no case has been registered against him. We will take a decision on registering a case against him based on the findings of the departmental probe, which has begun now. The probe will look to uncover the constable’s motive behind leaking official data, as well as whether he had leaked other sensitive information. We are looking into whether he circulated information about leaders of other political parties, or religious leaders,” Idukki’s superintendent of police R Karuppasamy said.
The issue came to the fore in connection with a police investigation into an attack on Manu Sudhan, a bus conductor with the state-run transport corporation. He had allegedly been facing threats from right-wing Muslim groups who accuse him of making anti-Islamic comments on social media.
On December 3, Sudhan was allegedly attacked by a group of people when he was travelling from Mullaringad to Thodupuzha in Idukki. The group allegedly waylaid the bus he was travelling in, and assaulted him in the presence of his children. Police arrested four members of the SDPI in connection with the attack.
While inspecting the mobile phone of one of the arrested SDPI workers, police found that it had files related to RSS and BJP leaders in Idukki, police sources said, adding that they also discovered that the compromised police data was shared with the SDPI member by constable Anas.
“While serving with the special branch intelligence wing, Anas had used his official email ID to access the data and illegally transmit the information to the SDPI worker,” police sources said.
Police have taken the issue seriously considering the recent political killings involving the Sangh Parivar and SDPI/PFI. Besides, Thodupuzha, where the bus conductor was assaulted, has emerged as a communally-sensitive area over the years. In 2010, the right palm of T J Joseph, a college professor who was working with Newman College in Thodupuzha at the time, was chopped off after he was accused of insulting the Prophet in a question paper. People linked to the SDPI and PFI had been arrested in connection with the 2010 attack, which was investigated by the NIA.