Senior police officials privy to the original report said the “fragmentary version’s” findings seemed to correspond in some measure to the conclusions submitted by Mr. Kumar to State Police Chief Sheikh Darvesh Saheb in September.
| Photo Credit: K.K. NAJEEB
The initial inquiry conducted by M.R. Ajith Kumar, former Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Law and Order, into the “disruption” of the iconic Thrissur Pooram in Kerala had reportedly pointed to a conspiracy allegedly hatched by some persons in the Thiruvambady and Paramekkavu Devaswoms to politically coerce future administrations to yield to the “unlawful” demands of festival managers.
Parts of the report, rendered redundant with the Kerala government finding the investigation wanting and ordering a multi-tier inquiry in October, emerged in the public domain on Monday (December 23, 2024), stoking further controversy.
Senior police officials privy to the original report said the “fragmentary version’s” findings seemed to correspond in some measure to the conclusions submitted by Mr. Kumar to State Police Chief Sheikh Darvesh Saheb in September.
The report reportedly claimed that the “saboteurs” aspired to deal a political blow to the government by turning public sentiment against the administration ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections for stonewalling their demands to bend the rules governing the conduct of religious mass gatherings, especially those involving fireworks displays and other pyrotechnics.
Officials privy to the report said it accused certain devasom officials of demanding that the district administration allow the public into the “sterile zone”, an area demarcated to ensure fire safety during firework displays, until 2.30 a.m. on the Pooram day.
The report alleged that some people attending the Thiruvambady Devaswom’s general body meeting ahead of the 2024 Pooram had warned that any attempt by the district administration to barricade the “sterile zone” would adversely affect the festival’s conduct.
The report alleged that anonymous persons switched off the Thiruvambady Devaswom’s pandal lights and the Naikanal pandal’s decorative illumination at 1.18 a.m. and 1.21 a.m., respectively.
According to Mr. Kumar’s report, the festivities soon petered out, disappointing the public, especially Pooram enthusiasts, and stoking public resentment against the government during the final phase of the Lok Sabha poll campaign in Kerala.
The report said that some persons tried to create a law and order situation at the T-Junction on the arterial MG Road.
It said that, for unknown reasons, perhaps as part of a premeditated plan, some vested interests repeatedly pressured the district administration to dilute the implementation of the Pooram fireworks and crowd regulation rules and gave flimsy excuses for not following the law.
The report denied accusations that the police had stopped the Pooram, entangled with festival enthusiasts, hobbled religious rituals and impeded the movement of Devaswom members.
In October, ordering a multi-tier enquiry into the Pooram “disruption”, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the ADGP’s report noted that some quarters involved in the festival’s organisation had made impossible demands that were not permissible by law.
Published – December 23, 2024 03:05 pm IST