`NIA friends may bail out Thachankary'

Arjun Raghunath

Express News Service
First Published : 03 Jul 2010 04:46:21 AM IST
Last Updated : 03 Jul 2010 02:09:52 PM IST

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Centre’s decision to order a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the suspected terror links of IPS officer Tomin Thachankary has sparked off rumours that it is an attempt to give a clean chit to the tainted officer.
The personal relations that Thanchankary has with two senior IPS officers who are holding key posts in NIA have ignited the rumours, not only in the State but also in Delhi.
IG (Operations and Coordination) in NIA Loknath Behera as well as IG (Investigations) in NIA Sanjeev Kumar Singh are known friends of Thachankary.
Behera, an IPS officer of the Kerala cadre, is the third top officer in NIA after NIA Director S C Sinha and Additional Director S Balaji.
Thachankary had succeeded Behera as IG Headquarters in Kerala Police, after the latter joined NIA on deputation last year. He also took over the charge of the Hi-Tech Crime Enquiry Cell from Behera.
“The close relations between Thachankary and Behera is an open secret,’’ a senior Kerala police officer said. Many other officers echoed the same view.
Union Home Ministry sources said that IG Sanjeev Kumar Singh, who is next to Behera in the NIA, is a batch-mate of Thachankary.
“Both Sanjeev Kumar and Thachankary are IPS officers of the 1987 batch and they had undergone IPS training during the same period. Since then they are said to have personal acquaintance, ‘’ the source told Express.
“Since there are rumours about the close connections of the two key officers in NIA with Thachankary, a probe against him under the supervision of any of these officers may not only torpedo the probe, but would also put the credibility of the key organisation under a shadow,’’ said sources.
The Home Ministry is likely to intervene in the matter and ensure that a foolproof probe is conducted into the suspicions against the senior IPS officer.