E-Paper
Ex-DGP evading arrest, Tamil Nadu police tells high court
Former Tamil Nadu DGP Rajesh Das evading arrest for sexually harassing woman IPS officer, with passport impoundment action taken by state police.
Chennai: Tamil Nadu’s former Director General of Police (DGP) Rajesh Das is reportedly evading arrest on charges of sexually harassing a woman IPS officer and the state police have informed the Madras high court that they have taken action to impound his passport.
Das had moved a plea in the high court to suspend his sentence issued by a court in Villupuram district and when this came up for hearing on Tuesday before Justice M Nirmal Kumar, the CB-CID wing of the Tamil Nadu police made the submission. An arrest warrant was issued by the trial court on March 8. The CB-CID had also issued a look out notice and subsequently requested the Regional Passport Office in Chennai to impound his passport.
Last June, the Chief Judicial Magistrate at Villupuram, convicted and sentenced Das to three years’ imprisonment for sexually harassing a woman superintendent of police (SP) while on duty in February 2021. He filed an appeal before the trial court in Villupuram which also upheld his conviction and sentence.
The incident took place when the two were accompanying then Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami during an official visit to Karur district and set off a storm when it emerged in February 2021, two months before assembly elections in the state. According to the officer’s complaint, Das, who accompanied her in a car, harassed her around 7.40pm on February 21, when they were travelling from Karur to Namakkal district. Das was suspended in March 2021 on the recommendation of the Election Commission of India.
