Kasaragod: An internal inquiry ordered by the State Police Chief Ravada A Chandrasekhar has confirmed lapses in the drafting of the First Information Report (FIR) in the Kumbla toll plaza incident, where a protesting young driver was dragged out of his car by police officers.

The inquiry, conducted by Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Nandagopan M, found that inaccuracies had crept into the FIR because the Station House Officer - Inspector Mukundan T K did not verify the draft FIR before registering it.

The findings have been communicated to social activist Adv Kulathur Jaisingh, who had taken up the issue of the fabricated FIR with the Chief Minister.

The report has also been sent to the Deputy Inspector General, who will forward it to the Inspector General, the disciplinary authority, for further action, said District Police Chief B V Vijaya Bharat Reddy.

Reddy said the FIR was prepared by the General Diary (GD) in-charge officer using a template complaint format. The officer allegedly changed only the name and basic details before registering the FIR. The SHO should have briefed the GD officer properly or verified the draft FIR before registering it, Reddy told Onmanorama. “So that’s the lapse on the part of the SHO,” he said.

The FIR, officially registered by Mukundan, had said that the driver, Muhammed Riyas (30) of Bovikanam, was found “suspiciously standing” near the toll plaza and was arrested after he allegedly tried to flee on seeing the SHO and his patrol team.

The police took this creative liberty despite the toll plaza being under CCTV surveillance and citizens filming the incident on their phones, with the videos later going viral on social media. Many on social media commented that Riyas was removed for refusing to pay the toll, which was not the case.

The inquiry, however, found no lapse in how the police officers, led by Inspector Mukundan, handled the situation at the toll plaza on January 28.

Riyas, his aunt, her two adult daughters and her six-month-old grandchild were returning home after visiting the Ullal Dargah on the outskirts of Mangaluru.

At the toll plaza, there was a KSRTC bus before Riyas’s car.

The police, after reviewing the CCTV footage, said Riyas followed the bus and “attempted to pass through the toll booth before the boom barrier was lowered”. But before the car could pass, the boom barrier landed on the car’s windshield.

The toll plaza staff removed the boom barrier and asked Riyas to move his car, but he turned off the ignition and started arguing with the staff.

Riyas said he was trying to leave the toll plaza because the toll was deducted from the Fastag, and when he questioned about the “faulty” boom barrier, the Hindi-speaking employee did not understand, prolonging the standoff.

After he refused to move out of the toll lane for around five minutes, Inspector Mukundan, who was there, dragged Riyas out of the car and, with the help of other officers, carried him to the police vehicle.

The inspector said it was a preventive arrest, and Riyas was let off immediately.

The District Police Chief said the officers removed him from the car using only “sufficient force”.  

Adv Jaisingh said the letter he received has no mention of the disciplinary action recommended by the inquiry officer. “We will have to wait and see what the department does,” he said.

To be sure, the Union government has removed the toll plaza after sustained protests.