Kochi police chief transferred after outrage over elite-linked Mercedes hit-and-run probe
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
Kochi City Police Commissioner Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar was moved after intense criticism that the investigation into the killing of 55-year-old Jayabalakrishnan was mishandled, with the state home minister pointing to lapses and public anger forcing corrective action.
Kochi City Police Commissioner Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar was transferred after mounting criticism of how police handled the fatal traffic collision that killed 55-year-old Jayabalakrishnan on October 25. The crash involved a Mercedes-Benz driven by the 17-year-old son of an additional district judge, who was first released on bail and later re-arrested only after public protests exposed the scandal.
Keralam Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said the police had failed to use the correct legal provision for culpable homicide and promised action against officials responsible for the lapse. > "The police initially failed to invoke the appropriate legal provision relating to culpable homicide," he told the state Assembly.
After the minister’s remarks, four police officers—a Circle Inspector, a Station House Officer, a Grade Sub-Inspector and an Assistant Civil Police Officer—were suspended. The investigation was also taken away from the local police and handed over to the District Crime Branch.
Police searched the judge’s residence and obtained CCTV footage as part of the probe. The judge was named an accused under Section 199A of the Motor Vehicles Act, which makes a juvenile’s guardian or vehicle owner liable for offences committed by a minor. The Kerala High Court granted permission to arraign the judge.
The teenager was first charged under Section 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for causing death by negligence, then re-booked under Section 105 for culpable homicide not amounting to murder after protests forced a tougher response. A video recovered from the teen’s phone showed the vehicle traveling at approximately 104 km/h.
The case has triggered political turmoil, with opposition legislators walking out of the Assembly in protest over the handling of the investigation and the apparent protection surrounding the powerful family.