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R. B. Sreekumar

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R.B. Sreekumar
OccupationEx-Indian Police ServiceOfficer
Known forPolicing during2002 Gujarat riots

R.B. Sreekumaris a formerGujarat StateDirector-General of Police.

Personal life[edit]

Sreekumar, a native ofTrivandrum District,is a grandson of the eminent freedom fighter, critique and journalist Balaramapuram G. Raman Pillai. Sreekumar completed his schooling and postgraduation inThiruvananthapuram.joined theIndian Police Service(IPS) in 1971. Raman Pillai was the founder of the Travancore State Congress and used to publish the newspaper Navashakti. Sreekumar completed his post-graduation in history fromKerala Universityand was a professor in the University. A 1971 batchIndian Police Service(IPS) officer, Sreekumar joinedGujarat policeforces in 1972 and continued till his retirement in 2007 asAdditional director general of police.[citation needed]He joinedArvind Kejriwal'sAam Aadmi Partyin 2014.[1]

2002 Gujarat Riots[edit]

Sreekumar wasAdditional Director General of Policein charge of armed unit in Gujarat duringGodhra Incidentand was Intelligence DGP immediately after2002 Gujarat riotstook place. He is known for the affidavits he filed toNanavati-Mehta Commissionand presentation toJames Michael Lyngdohthe thenChief Election Commissioner of Indiaalleging dubious role of law and order in the riots.[2]This led to cancellation of original proposal of early election in the state.[3]In one of the affidavits he annexed transcripts of illegal tutoring by bureaucrats to him in clandestine recordings and asemi-officialregister maintained during his tenure as DGP - Intelligence apart from other evidences.[4][5]The Times of Indianewspaper carried an exclusive news item based on his report to the Nanavati-Mehta Commission in which he claimed to have documented the state's connivance at the perpetration of riots. The Nanavati-Mehta Commission eventually rejected Sreekumar’s testimony, as well as those ofRahul Sharma[6]andSanjiv Bhatt,[6]saying they were disgruntled officers with personal grievances. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) that investigated riots, also, found all such claims to be false, which was endorsed by the Supreme Court.[7][8]

Subsequently, he was denied promotion by Gujarat government to the rank of Director General of Police. He took his case to theCentral Administrative Tribunal(CAT) that gave its ruling in September 2006 in his favour. However, this order was reversed by theGujarat High Courtin 2015.[9]He was arrested by the Gujarat Police on 25 June 2022 on the charge of conspiring to falsely implicate innocent persons, after the Supreme Court said in an order dismissing apetition by Zakia Jafrithat "it appears to us that a coalesced effort of the disgruntled officials of the State of Gujarat along with others was to create sensation by making revelations which were false to their own knowledge".[10]

ISRO Controversy[edit]

Main article:ISRO espionage case

Sreekumar filed a defamation cases againstNambi Narayanan,along with BJP leadersNarendra Modi,Rajnath SinghandMeenakshi Lekhi,for trying to malign his name using false allegations about the ISRO spy case.[11]Sreekumar further contended in that petition that he was Additional Director of Intelligence when Nambi Narayanan was arrested, and had no direct role in the criminal proceedings against him, which is supported by the Central Bureau of Investigation report of 2000 during Vajpayee government. And yet, Sreekumar contended,Nambi Narayananalleged of mental and physical torture.[12]Sreekumar or his counsels did not appear for the hearing and the case was dismissed.[13]

In 2021, Supreme Court ordered theCBIto investigate allegations that Nambi Narayanan's espionage charges had been framed. In the FIR filed by CBI, RB Sreekumar was one of the 18 accused named in the case.[14]Sreekumar was on deputation toIBwhen the espionage case againstNarayananwas started. While he had denied any link with the case, Narayanan had named him as one of the conspirators.

Books[edit]

  • Gujarat Behind the Curtain
  • The Diary of a Helpless Man
  • Gujarat: Irakalkku vendi oru porattam(Malayalam)

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Former Gujarat DGP R B Sreekumar joins AAP".PTI. 13 March 2014.
  2. ^"Nanavati panel yet to summon any politician for questioning".19 February 2009.
  3. ^"The Hindu: EC rules out early polls in Gujarat".hindu.Archived fromthe originalon 29 June 2013.Retrieved3 February2022.
  4. ^"After winning promotion battle, Sreekumar retires | India News - Times of India".The Times of India.March 2007.
  5. ^"'Gujarat cops are most corrupt'".3 November 2008.
  6. ^ab"'False, disgruntled, unreliable': Nanavati Commission dismisses 3 IPS whistleblowers' accounts ".The Times of India.12 December 2019.ISSN0971-8257.Retrieved24 July2023.
  7. ^Rajagopal, Krishnadas (24 June 2022)."2002 Gujarat riots | Supreme Court rejects Zakia Jafri's charges against Narendra Modi, 60 officials".The Hindu.
  8. ^"'No larger conspiracy behind Gujarat riots': SC rejects Zakia Jafri plea against clean chit to Modi ".25 June 2022.
  9. ^"Retired Sreekumar promoted as DGP - Indian Express".archive.indianexpress.Retrieved31 July2020.
  10. ^"Gujarat Ex Top Cop Arrested a Day After Court Ruling on 2002 Riots".
  11. ^"Modi has a snooping habit, I was told to tap Vaghela: Sreekumar".The Indian Express.19 November 2013.
  12. ^Ramdas, P (5 August 2021)."Sreekumar nursed grudge as I did not appoint his kin at VSSC: Nambi Narayanan".New Indian Express.
  13. ^"Court dismisses defamation plea of ex-IPS officer against Narendra Modi".Indian Express.4 March 2014.
  14. ^Babu, Ramesh (24 June 2021)."CBI books 18 policemen in 1994 Isro fake spy case".Hindustan Times.
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