Onmanorama: Kerala: Sunday, 19th October 2025.
The Home Department has issued a censure against a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) following an inquiry into a lapse in handling a Right to Information (RTI) application regarding the police involvement in the 2024 Thrissur Pooram mishap. The lapse led to a widespread public misconception that no probe into the incident was underway. The action was initiated after complaints, including those from the Thiruvambadi Devaswom, over police management of the festival.
The internal inquiry found
that DySP M S Santhosh, who served as the State Public Information Officer
(SPIO) at Police Headquarters (PHQ), demonstrated dereliction of duty and
negligence in processing an RTI request filed by Arun Singh C G on September 5,
2024. On September 6, the DySP hastily forwarded the application to the
Thrissur City District Police Office and issued an incomplete interim reply
from PHQ. The PHQ SPIO failed to wait for an internal section's reply, which
was due in seven days, before sending the application to the Thrissur office.
The subsequent reply from the Thrissur City Police said that their office had not conducted an investigation into the Pooram disruptions. This reply, combined with the DySP’s initial handling, created a misconception that no police investigation was happening at all, despite the fact that the State Police Chief had ordered the ADGP (Law and Order) to conduct an inquiry on April 21, 2024. The inquiry concluded that the DySP was eager to evade responsibility by forwarding the request without confirming the availability of information at the Thrissur office, a violation of the RTI Act.
DySP Santhosh, who was initially suspended but later reinstated, argued that he was merely following Section 6(3) of the RTI Act by forwarding the request to a related public authority and that his interim reply had promised a full response later.
However, the inquiry officer concluded that all charges were proven, citing the DySP's lack of diligence and the irresponsible act of causing a public misunderstanding. Though censured, the DySP requested sympathetic consideration for his nearly three years of service as SPIO and his impending retirement, claiming any error was unintentional.
The Home Department has issued a censure against a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) following an inquiry into a lapse in handling a Right to Information (RTI) application regarding the police involvement in the 2024 Thrissur Pooram mishap. The lapse led to a widespread public misconception that no probe into the incident was underway. The action was initiated after complaints, including those from the Thiruvambadi Devaswom, over police management of the festival.
The subsequent reply from the Thrissur City Police said that their office had not conducted an investigation into the Pooram disruptions. This reply, combined with the DySP’s initial handling, created a misconception that no police investigation was happening at all, despite the fact that the State Police Chief had ordered the ADGP (Law and Order) to conduct an inquiry on April 21, 2024. The inquiry concluded that the DySP was eager to evade responsibility by forwarding the request without confirming the availability of information at the Thrissur office, a violation of the RTI Act.
DySP Santhosh, who was initially suspended but later reinstated, argued that he was merely following Section 6(3) of the RTI Act by forwarding the request to a related public authority and that his interim reply had promised a full response later.
However, the inquiry officer concluded that all charges were proven, citing the DySP's lack of diligence and the irresponsible act of causing a public misunderstanding. Though censured, the DySP requested sympathetic consideration for his nearly three years of service as SPIO and his impending retirement, claiming any error was unintentional.
.JPG)
.JPG)
