Kerala Government Suspends Official Over Controversial Parole Decision

Suspension of Official Amid Controversy

Thiruvananthapuram, August 4 - The Kerala government has suspended an undersecretary for alleged irregularities related to granting parole to a jailed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councilor during city council meetings. This information was disclosed in an official order. R. Sugathan, a councilor from the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation, is currently in preventive custody under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities Prevention Act (KAAPA).

According to the official order, Dr. Chitra P. Arunima, the suspended undersecretary, is an officer of the Kerala Administrative Service (KAS). The order, issued late Monday night, stated that she allegedly made unauthorized changes to a government file and added extra information to benefit Sugathan, who was not legally entitled to such advantages. The government order accused the KAS officer of acting with malicious intent to benefit the detained individual, which constituted serious official misconduct, abuse of power, and a violation of service conduct rules.

Sources indicated that she is the first KAS officer to face suspension since the service's inception in 2018. This action follows a controversy regarding the granting of a six-month parole to BJP councilor Sugathan from the Vazhotto Konam ward in Thiruvananthapuram.

Sugathan remains incarcerated under KAAPA. Meanwhile, senior leader of the main opposition party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), and former minister V. Shivan Kutty accused the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government of colluding with the BJP to prevent Sugathan from being disqualified. During a press conference, he stated, “People should understand the extraordinary ‘concern’ the government has shown, with the support of Congress and Muslim League leaders, to protect a BJP councilor.”

Shivan Kutty further alleged that after systematically engaging in illegal activities, the government is attempting to evade responsibility by merely suspending the undersecretary in the local self-government department and making her a scapegoat.