TN ex-DGP on the run to escape jail in sexual harassment case, teams formed to hunt him
Rajesh Das approached the MHC to transfer the appeal from the Villupuram Principal Judge on the ground that he would not have a fair and impartial hearing of the appeal.
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Police's CB-CID has formed special teams to trace ex-DGP Rajesh Das, who was convicted and awarded three years jail term by a court in Villupuram for sexually harassing a woman IPS officer who was his subordinate.
Sources said the court directed the police to secure the convict, as he has been avoiding jail time for more than a month even after confirmation of his sentence after all his appeals before higher courts were struck down.
When police went to secure him, Das was not at the address listed in the documents, sources added.
Also Read: ‘SP stopped IPS officer’s vehicle, tried to get her to speak to DGP’
On June 16, 2023, the Chief Judicial Magistrate at Villupuram convicted Rajesh Das and imposed a three-year jail sentence in a case of harassing a woman police officer in the rank of SP while she was on duty.
Aggrieved by the conviction, Das moved to Principal Judge, Villupuram, and later approached the Madras High Court to transfer the appeal from the Villupuram Principal Judge, alleging that he would not have a fair and impartial hearing of the appeal.
However, the High Court dismissed his plea on January 9. Subsequently, he filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court, which, too, was also dismissed.
Das was a special DGP when the incident happened. After he was convicted, the Home Department removed him from service – compulsory retirement in official parlance.
