Controversial cop in Kanchi Seers case dismissed

Chennai, May 22: Former Kancheepuram Superintendent of Police K Premkumar, who had arrested Kanchi Acharyas in connection with a murder case in November 2004, has been dismissed from service.

Police sources told sources today that the dismissal order has been served on Mr Premkumar. The Tamil Nadu government had issued the orders last night.

Mr Premkumar had hit the headlines when he arrested Senior Kanchi Acharya Jayendra Saraswathi in connection with the murder of Kancheepuram Lord Varadharajaperumal Temple Manager A Sankararaman at Mahboobnagar in Andhra Pradesh on November 11, 2004, during the previous AIADMK regime.

He also drew flak from certain quarters for seeking the blessings of the God by placing the copies of the murder case chargesheet before filing it before the Kancheepuram JM-I Court.

Meanwhile, Mr Premkumar was also placed under suspension for allegedly trying to influence some of the witnesses in the murder case.

He was also convicted by the Additional District and Sessions Judge in Madurai on July 11, 2003 for attacking an ex-serviceman during the course of an enquiry in 1982. However, the court released him without imposing any punishment under the Probation of Offenders Act, 1958.

The findings of an RDO enquiry had charged him with ill-treating the ex-serviceman Nallakaman at Madurai when he was a Sub-Inspector in 1982. The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court had recently upheld six-months imprisonment awarded to him by a lower court on charges of torturing the ex-serviceman during his tenure as SI at Vadipatti village in Madurai.

The State government had on September last issued a show cause notice asking him why he should not be removed from police service in the wake of his conviction.

UNI