The state government on Wednesday appointed R Nishanthini as the Kochi City Police Commissioner, replacing S Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar following serious lapses in handling the fatal hit-and-run case at Cheranallor, in which the 17-year-old son of an Additional District and Sessions Judge is the first accused. Home department sources said an official order would be issued soon.

The decision came after a direction from Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, who has openly condemned police leniency towards the judge’s son and slammed cops for laxity.

Nishanthini currently serves as South Zone IG. P Prakash, presently the SCRB IG, will replace her as she assumes the post of Kochi City Police Commissioner. Mahesh Kumar has not been given a new posting.

The punitive measure came a day after four cops at Cherannallor police station were placed under suspension for lapses in pursuing the case. Jayabalakrishnan, a 55-year-old wayside eatery vendor, was killed in the early morning hours of Sunday after his scooter was rammed by a Mercedes-Benz driven by the judge’s son.

The accident blew up into a major controversy after the relatives and residents alleged that the police invoked only lenient charges on the driver and tried to shield the accused. The protests intensified after the cops released him on station bail. The police were forced to take him into custody later at night on Sunday as the family members staged a sit-in at the station.

The officials said the delay in arraigning the judge as the accused in the case in spite of clear legal guidelines on naming the guardian or RC owner as accused in accident cases involving minors brought disrepute to police department and portrayed the government in bad light. Chennithala had criticised police action in stern tones when the issue was brought up in the assembly.