A senior IPS officer in Kerala has kicked up a controversy after he failed to salute state Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala when he arrived at the venue of a function at the police academy in Thrissur Saturday morning. When Chennithala reached the venue of the passing out parade of police constables at the academy, ADGP Rishi Raj Singh remained in his seat and did not bother to salute the minister unlike other officers. Chennithala on Sunday said he has no complaint against the behavior of the ADGP and it was up to the DGP to look into the issue. However, Congress spokesman Pandalam Sudhakaran slammed the ADGP. He said the officer has destroyed the discipline of the police force in Kerala. Singh’s behaviour smacks of indiscipline, he said, adding that he has not insulted Chennithala but the Home Minister of the state. It is part of the democratic culture that an officer respect a minister, said Sudhakaran. [related-post] DGP T P Senkumar said it was the duty of the ADGP to salute the minister. He would be asked to correct himself if his conduct was deliberate, he added. ADGP Singh he was only a guest at the event. As per the invitation letter, all guests were asked to be seated 15 minutes before the programme. It was suggested that all were supposed to rise only when the national anthem was sung. He said he wished the minister after the parade. Besides, he was with the minister for nearly two hours during the breakfast time. Singh had hogged the limelight several times in the past for his pro-active role. When he was the transport commissioner, Singh had strictly implemented traffic rules. Until recently he had been the vigilance officer with the state electricity board. In that capacity, he had detected hundreds of power theft incidents and slapped huge fines. Last week, he returned to the police department as ADGP, Battalion.
