Thiruvananthapuram: After the Kerala government reinstated the state’s senior most police officer DGP Jacob Thomas who was suspended since 2017, the top cop has been placed at the helm of the Metal Industries Limited (MIL) in Shoranur district of Palakkad, Kerala.
After assuming office, the top cop has launched a souvenir series of an ‘axe’ designed in about 100 different shapes. The axe souvenirs, which follow the much celebrated Aranmula Kannadi and Chundanvallam that are manufactured by the traditional handcraft industries in Kerala, are expected to sculpt its way to the online market in a month’s time. Thomas’ appointment as the managing director of the Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) comes after his application for voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) was turned down by the government.
Legend haS it that Parasurama, the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, threw the bloodstained axe of him across the sea from Gokarna(now in Karnataka) to Kanyakumari(now in Tamil Nadu) to raise the land between these places, which later came to be known as Kerala.
Thomas was suspended by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in 2017 after he slammed the government over law and order issues when the state was battling the aftereffects of Cyclone Ockhi. The officer’s suspension was later extended after a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) alleged that Thomas was involved in corruption scandal when he was the director of ports department in the state.
Thomas, who was considered close to Pinarayi Vijayan, was asked to go on leave and was later suspended after relations between the two soured. His suspension period was extended several times since then. He was appointed as Director General of Police (DGP) the same day Chief Minister Vijayan assumed office in May, 2016.
During the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, Thomas had applied for voluntary retirement in order to contest the polls. The government had, however, rejected his application. Speculations about Thomas joining the BJP also did the rounds during this time. Thomas had also openly criticised the state government in its handling of the Sabarimala agitation.
A criminal case was slapped on him for penning an autobiographical work 'Sravukalkkoppam Neenthumbol' (Swimming with the Sharks), which makes several controversial mentions of politicians, bureaucrats and ministers.
Jacob Thomas in July received the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) order directing the Kerala government to immediately reinstate him.
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