The Home department has initiated a joint oral inquiry against Thiruvalla DySP Nandakumar S and Praveen VS (Station House Officer), Aranmula, for serious lapses in the investigation of a controversial POCSO case in which an HC lawyer is the first accused. The department has appointed Chaitra Theresa John, SP, Technical Intelligence, as the inquiry officer. 

The State Police Chief has also recommended departmental action against Nandakumar for his failure in supervision and failure to exercise due diligence in a case of grave nature, which tarnished the image of the police before the public and caused disrepute to the government. Disciplinary action was also recommended against Praveen for the investigation lapse. 

Aranmula police registered the case in December 2024 following a complaint that a 17-year-old girl was molested in a hotel by Noushad Thottathil, a lawyer, and the survivor's aunt was named as the second accused. The abuse came to light after the survivor's father, who was employed abroad, submitted a complaint to the District Police Chief, Pathanamthitta, in 2024.

He handed over a pen drive containing voice recordings, alleging that his daughter had been sexually assaulted. The Kerala High Court had hailed the survivor in the case as a beacon of hope after she cleared the All India Forensic Science Entrance Examination. 

In her statement, the survivor disclosed that she was taken from her residence by her paternal aunt and brought before Noushad Thottathil and was sexually assaulted in a hotel at Kozhencherry. Konni police had registered an FIR initially, and later the case was transferred to Aranmula since the place of occurrence fell within its jurisdiction.

According to the Home Department, when Noushad filed an anticipatory bail application before the High Court, the District Police Chief of Pathanamthitta specifically instructed him to personally meet and directly apprise the Government Pleader of the seriousness of the case while submitting the Statement of Facts. However, he failed to comply with the direction of the Superior Officer. "This conduct amounts to indiscipline on the part of Praveen," the order cited.

The report by the Home Department further notes that, although the case was registered on December 16, 2024, the request for the Call Detail Records (CDR) of the phone numbers related to the case was submitted only on December 24. Noushad's mobile number had remained active only until December 22. "This inordinate and unjustified eight-day delay in procuring critical digital evidence materially contributed to the accused evading arrest and subsequently absconding," the department said in the order.

It was also reported that there was a deliberate dereliction of duty on the part of Praveen in arresting Noushad. Despite having sufficient time and availability of the prima facie evidence substantiating the presence and identity of Noushad at the scene of the offence, no effective steps were initiated by Praveen to trace or arrest Noushad, the order pointed out.

Nandakumar, who served as the Investigating Officer in the case, failed to arrest the accused despite the rejection of the anticipatory bail application of Noushad. He was also unable to identify or take action against those who committed the offence of harbouring by providing shelter to Noushad.

"This shows that Nandakumar handled the case without fully understanding its seriousness. The continued non-arrest of the first accused clearly reflects a lack of supervisory diligence and constitutes a serious lapse in responsibility," the Home department cited in the order. 

The State Home Department had earlier suspended Konni Station House Officer (SHO) Sreejith P and DySP Rajappan T for gross dereliction of duty and procedural lapses in handling this POCSO case. The Directorate of Women and Child Development had suspended District child welfare committee chairman N Rajeev, alleging attempts to sabotage the case.