Kerala: Why was former ADGP Ajith Kumar’s in secret talks with RSS leaders?

A high-level police team investigating allegations surrounding the meetings of former ADGP (law and order) M.R. Ajith Kumar with RSS leaders has reported that the true purpose of the meetings remains unclear, as they were held in closed rooms with no independent witnesses. The inquiry report was presented in the assembly on Tuesday.

The investigating team, led by DGP Shaik Darvesh Saheb, was tasked with examining the allegations around Ajith Kumar’s meetings with RSS leaders Ram Madhav and Dattatreya Hosabale.

According to the investigation, Ajith Kumar visited Thrissur in April 2023 and met RSS sampark pramukh Jayakumar, who was also a family friend, at the Hyatt Hotel. During their meeting, Jayakumar mentioned an RSS camp in the district, which led Ajith Kumar to express a desire to meet Hosabale in person.

Ajith Kumar then travelled to the camp in a car arranged by Jayakumar, deliberately avoiding the use of his official vehicle, as the meeting was private and brief. The former ADGP stated that Unnirajan, a retired IPS officer, was also present at the camp. He maintained that the meeting was personal in nature.

Another meeting took place in June 2023 at the Leela Raviz Hotel, during a conclave that Ajith Kumar attended as one of the invitees. Following the conclave, Ashish Nair, the vice-president of the Raviz Group, expressed a wish to give a presentation about the hotel to RSS leader Ram Madhav and asked Ajith Kumar to accompany him.

The report indicates that the meeting between Ajith Kumar and Ram Madhav took place in Madhav's hotel room. Ajith Kumar described this meeting as personal as well.

The report stated that Ajith Kumar admitted to meeting both Ram Madhav and Dattatreya Hosabale for purely private reasons, with the aim of building a rapport with them to help in the performance of his duties as ADGP (Law & Order). He further explained that he regularly met leaders from various political and social organisations.

However, the probe team emphasised that the meetings were neither part of his official duties related to law and order nor connected to any investigations. Nor were they part of any private or family functions to which he was invited.

"The true purpose of the meetings could not be ascertained, as they took place behind closed doors with no independent witnesses," the report stated. While Ajith Kumar claimed his visits were merely courtesy calls to the RSS leaders, the team found it unclear why he chose to meet Dattatreya Hosabale at the Paramekkavu Vidyamandir school in Thrissur, using a private vehicle arranged by Jayakumar, instead of his official car.

Given that Ajith Kumar described his visit as a courtesy call, the report concluded it was not possible to determine the precise reason for the meeting or what transpired during it, as there were no independent witnesses. Therefore, it could not be confirmed whether it was truly a courtesy meeting or something else.

The investigation also noted that there was no evidence to either confirm or refute the allegations that Ajith Kumar met the RSS leaders to seek their assistance in securing the President's Medal for Distinguished Service or in having his name included in the UPSC select list for the position of DGP and state police chief.