States: Tamil Nadu; In Hot Pursuit

India Today, December 7, 1998
Dec 7, 1998

TAMIL NADU
In Hot Pursuit

Sexual indiscretions deal a blow to the police force's image.

By K.M. Thomas

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi made a startling statement about the state police in the Assembly some time ago: "A large number of policemen are plain scoundrels and three-fourths of the police force is rotten." The chief minister's ire is not difficult to understand.

Consider this: dsp Vanitha, a 27- year-old unmarried woman, delivered a baby girl in a Madurai hospital in January. When eyebrows were raised, she promptly named one Sampath Kumar as the father of the child. But Kumar was no ordinary philanderer. He is a fellow DSP -- and already married. Predictably he denied any liaison with Vanitha and accused her of "having a string of affairs". But Vanitha's family members released a photograph showing Kumar holding the baby with Vanitha by his side. As the unseemly affair threatened to snowball into a slanging match, the state's Police Department last month placed both the officers under suspension following an inquiry.

If this had been a solitary incident, it could have been dismissed as an aberration -- the amorous escapades of two young officers. But there are many others like vanitha and Kumar who have dealt a blow to the image of Tamil Nadu Police, once considered one of the best in the country. Things began to change in the late '80s when the police got embroiled in the highly emotive politics of the state. This in turn ensured that when custodians of the law got on its wrong side, no action was taken. What followed were custodial deaths, sexual peccadilloes, torture, corruption -- you name it and the department has enough cases of all.

But nothing has shocked the force as much as the sexual escapades of senior officers in recent times. Earlier the occasional fling was ideal fodder for the state's scandal sheets. Senior officials admit that in the past whiffs of misadventures invariably died down in the absence of any evidence and the impeccable career records of the officers involved. But now they have almost become a tradition in the force. A major scandal broke out early this year involving a DSP and two women. In this menage a trois, Constable K. Sheela, who allegedly had a lesbian relationship with Inspector Seethalakshmi, was introduced by the inspector to her husband DSP Sundarajan, who promptly seduced her. The murky affair became public when Sheela became pregnant and claimed that Sundarajan was responsible. All three were suspended.

Sundarajan and Kumar are perhaps fortunate. They are left holding just one baby each. Walter Davaram, a former state DGP, was made of different mettle. He is said to have befriended an Australian woman Coralie Younger who had come to India to research a book. Though she returned to Australia without completing her assignment, she soon returned to India with triplets in tow, allegedly sired by Davaram. Younger threatened to drag him to court, but no case has been filed so far. Another highly rated former DGP Swarnabhadran Sripal, though married, fell for a woman who came to him with a petition. He later married her, divorcing his first wife who is the sister of a former Union minister.

"If ayyas (bosses) can do it, why can't I?" asked a constable when pulled up for his amorous proclivities. The question could well be addressed to IGP Thilakavathi, the first woman IPS officer of the state cadre. She was married and had two children when she took a fancy to N. Kumaran, a colleague, in the '80s. She even has a daughter by him. But the relationship soured soon. Suspecting her of having an affair with Davaram, then the police commissioner, Kumaran lodged a complaint against her. Though the liaison ended, their careers prospered and now both Thilakavathi and Kumaran are IGPs.

There are some who argue that these are but the private affairs of the police personnel and ought not to become subjects of public debate. But, argues C.V. Narasimhan, former DGP and National Police Commission member: "Policemen and women should have a clean image to retain credibility and respect among the people." There's something in that old-school wisdom.

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