Religious disharmony case: Kerala ex-DGP given interim relief

The Kerala High Court today granted interim anticipatory bail to the state's former police chief T P Senkumar in a case lodged against him allegedly for trying to incite religious enmity among people.
Justice B Sudheendra Kumar granted Senkumar the interim relief on his plea for anticipatory bail in the case and slated the matter for detailed hearing next Monday.
The case against the former police chief was registered by Thiruvananthapuram Cyber Police on eight complaints from various organisations alleging that in an interview to a Kochi-based Malayalam publication, the former police chief had made statements aimed at causing communal disharmony.

The former DGP was booked under section153A(1)(a) of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly making those statements in his interviews.
In his plea seeking anticipatory bail, Senkumar said he had only a 'friendly talk' with the reporter, who was not permitted to record the conversation.
The former state police chief said he was only sharing his anxiety regarding terror activities of Islamic State and the Maoist groups.

He further contended that he was falsely implicated in the case.
Senkumar, who won a historic legal battle with the CPI(M)-led Kerala government over his removal as state DGP, had retired from service on June 30.

The LDF government headed by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had removed Senkumar from the post of DGP soon after it came to power in May 2016.
Senkumar had moved the Supreme Court against the orders of the Kerala High Court and the Central Administrative Tribunal, which had upheld the government's decision to transfer him.
The apex court, however, had directed the state government to reinstate Senkumar as DGP on April 29, stating that the officer was transferred by the government "unfairly" and "arbitrarily".