Former Kerala director general of police (DGP) Jacob Thomas, who joined the BJP post-retirement and contested unsuccessfully in the 2021 Assembly elections, said on Sunday he is set to become a full-time worker of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Thomas, who retired in 2017 after a controversial 34-year police career defined by the image of a rebel cop, told local media that he was attracted to the “nationalist and community service” ideals of the RSS and wants to devote his time fully to contribute to the organisation.
The retired cop is set to take part in the “Pada sanchalanam” procession of the RSS on Vijayadashami day on October 2 in Kochi, dressed in its traditional ‘ganavesha’ uniform.
“On the 100th anniversary of the formation of the RSS, I have decided to become more active in the organisation. I am guided by the ideals of legends like Chhatrapati Sivaji, Subhash Chandra Bose and Sardar Patel. RSS doesn’t have politics, it is a community organisation. Yet it works towards the needs of the people and guide the nation towards modernity and progress. I am just becoming a part of those goals,” Thomas told local media on.
The former DGP said he was attracted to the ideals of the RSS after first visiting a school run by it near Mysore in 1997. “It remained in my mind. But because I held a government post, I remained committed to it all throughout my career. After retirement, I believe that I can implement those ideals in my mind,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}The former DGP said he was attracted to the ideals of the RSS after first visiting a school run by it near Mysore in 1997. “It remained in my mind. But because I held a government post, I remained committed to it all throughout my career. After retirement, I believe that I can implement those ideals in my mind,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}He also said that his joining the RSS was an answer to all allegations of communalism routinely hurled at the RSS.
Thomas began his police service in 1987 as an additional superintendent of police (ASP) and has worked in a wide variety of roles at managements like Plantation Corporation, DIG of Crime Investigation Department, Motor Vehicle Department, Kerala State Human Rights Commission and Kerala State Road Transport Corporation. His stint at the head of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau was significant. He has faced police cases for acquiring land with value disproportionate to his known sources of income.