Now, Minister slaps charges on Manickavel

“IG Pon Manickavel who deals with the idol theft cases has forced his subordinates to register cases without adequate evidence and facts. He has vested interests,” Shanmugam told reporters on Thursday.

“Who said he was a straightforward officer? He would not obey his seniors. He would not execute the directions passed by the State,” he explained.

Manickavel has been doing such acts under the influence of vested interests and the State will probe the complaints against him, he said. “How many arrests has he made and what is his contribution towards the idol wing,” he reiterated.

Meanwhile, the Minister’s open criticism invited sharp reactions from the State BJP and Hindu outfits. “Pon Manickavel is a high court-appointed investigating officer and he is only following the court directions in letter and spirit,” said state BJP general secretary Vanathi Srinivasan. He should be commended for all the Statue recoveries made till now. Further, Pon Manickavel is a State officer and the State should stand by him, he said.

The open criticism by the Minister against a court-appointed officer is condemnable, said Vanathi, a lawyer. It may be noted that BJP leader H Raja had also thrown his support for the controversial cop and this had irked the ruling AIADMK.

“I don’t understand why the police department is so angry with Pon Manickavel, who according to Hindu devout, is just doing his duty,” fumed R D Prabhu, state president, Bharat Hindu Munnani. Only after Manickavel took charge, the idol wing has started recovering statues stolen from temples, he said. Further, idol theft is a serious crime. The retired IG has not spared the temple authorities. His investigations had rattled industrialists, philanthropists and government officials. The state should support such an officer, he said.

Obstructing and creating trouble for the investigating officer will only show the government in poor light, Prabhu said. Further, this being a huge racket, the entire chain should be trapped, and the only respite is that the Court is closely monitoring the idol theft cases, he added.