Kochi Police Commissioner transferred amid ongoing Mercedes hit-and-run probe
Kochi City Police Commissioner S. Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar was transferred to another posting on 28 October, with R. Nishanthini appointed as his successor, as the District Crime Branch assumed control of the high-profile Mercedes hit-and-run case involving the son of an additional district judge. The state home minister cited lapses in the investigation as the reason for the move.
The incident began on 23 October when a 17-year-old son of Additional District and Sessions Judge S. Jayabalakrishnan was arrested for driving a Mercedes that struck and killed 55-year-old street-vendor Jayabalakrishnan. The Ernakulam Juvenile Justice Board granted the teen bail, while the judge was booked under the Motor Vehicles Act. In the days that followed, the Kerala government suspended four police officers, updated the FIR and searched the judge’s residence, and the District Crime Branch took over the investigation.
