Thiruvananthapuram: Three more government employees have been suspended for ransacking an SBI treasury main branch near the Secretariat during the national strike early this month. All three are leaders of Kerala NGO Union, a CPI(M)-affiliated organisation.
Union state committee member Suresh Babu and district secretariat member Suresh Babu - both GST inspectors - and treasury directorate member Srivalsan were suspended on Friday. So far five government employees have been suspended.
A government employee should be suspended within 48 hours of indictment in a criminal offense. Though the three were arrested on Monday, suspension orders were delayed allegedly because of pressure from CPI(M) leaders.
Earlier, union’s Thycaud area secretary A Asokan and district secretariat member TV Harilal were suspended from service. The order came after their offices were intimated of arrests for a non-bailable offense. Eight people have been arrested in the ransacking of the SBI branch until now. Their bail pleas have been rejected.
The branch was attacked on January 9, the second day of the 48 hour-long nationwide trade union strike. The treasury branch of SBI was attacked by a group of people, who barged into the manager's cabin, threatened him and the staff, damaged a glass table top and a computer monitor.
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