Centre recalls 'erring' TN police officers

chennai: in an apparent move to put pressure on the state government into taking action against the police officers involved in the arrest of former chief minister m karunanidhi and two union ministers murasoli maran and t r baalu, the centre has sought the services of some top police officers involved in the arrest. for former director-general of police r rajagopalan, who has been posted as director-general of the national security guards by the centre, it could prove to be a major promotion.but for chennai police commissioner k muthukaruppan, who services have also been sought by the centre, it may prove to be exactly the opposite. according to sources, the centre has also sought the services of two other senior officers involved in the arrest ^ deputy-commissioner (triplicane) christopher nelson, who is an sp rank officer, and joint commissioner, central, law and order, george, a dig-rank officer. at the police commissioner's office, nelson had attempted to pull maran out of the car to take karunanidhi alone on the night of june 29/30. george was the officer at the veppery police station who was instrumental in pulling maran out of the car. if the centre has its way, it could well mean punishment postings for muthukaruppan, george and nelson. however, despite the central directive to take action against the erring police officers, chief minister j jayalalitha has instituted the raman commission to look into the alleged atrocities by these officers. after the commission was set up, the dmk increased the pressure on the centre to intervene and render justice. on saturday, the chief secretary and the home secretary met jayalalitha to brief her about the centre's action. though there is no reaction from jayalalitha yet, it could well blow up into a serious centre-state confrontation. while rajagopalan might be relieved by the state, jayalalitha will certainly hold on to the other police officers. she could even approach the administrative tribunal if the centre takes it upon itself to force the transfers.