Kottayam: Former Kottayam SP V M Mohammed Rafique has refuted the report which said that he had misled the chief minister regarding the Kevin case. The report had said Rafique informed the CM that the DySP had already launched an investigation. Rafique told Onmanorama that the report was not based on facts.
The SP’s statement:
“I was in charge of the chief minister’s security arrangements from the morning on May 27. Around 4.15 pm that day, while resting at guest house after the programme at Gandhi Nagar, the chief minister enquired about the Kevin case. He asked me about it noticing the media reports which said a case had not been registered.
“I told the chief minister that as I was in charge of his security, I had heard about the incident only then and promised immediate action. I then called the DySP and orally instructed him to take the necessary measures. Later, when I reached my office, I issued the orders formally. It was after this that police teams were sent to Kottayam and Kollam. Till night, it was considered a missing case and the police team sent to Kollam discovered Kevin’s body in the Chaliyekkara canal at Thenmala.
“In normal cases, SIs do not inform the SP about the details of all the cases. Missing cases come to the notice of the SP only on the next day. In Kevin’s case too, the initial complaint had said that he was only missing. I admit that there was a delay in coming to know about it. However, the allegation that no prompt measures were taken is baseless.
“From 11 am, the time the complaint is said to have been filed, to 4 pm I was in charge of the CM’s security and was in the dark about the Kevin case. There was a delay in getting the information from the local police. This was because the junior officers did not inform me about the case. But I have not misled the chief minister. I had, in fact, obeyed the chief minister’s directive promptly. I was shifted from the post of Kottayam SP while I was preparing to take official action against the SI. It was clear that the SI had caused a delay in the investigation.”
Kevin and his relative Aneesh were abducted from a house at Mannanam early on May 27 by a 13-member gang. Following which, Kevin’s father and his wife Neenu reached the Gandhi Nagar police station and filed a complaint. However, SI Shibu told them that as he had CM’s security duty, their complaint could be considered only later. This had led to a major controversy. The next morning, Kevin’s body was found in a canal near Thenmala.