Thiruvananthapuram: Prima facie, the CPI(M)-backed Kerala Police Association did have a role in the alleged foul play in postal ballot, Chief Electoral Officer Teeka Ram Meena said in a statement issued by his office on Wednesday.
The CEO accepted the preliminary report submitted by State Police Chief Loknath Behra on the row. The latter is instructed to conduct a more detailed investigation and file a report by May 15 after probing various aspects of the case in detail, including the extent of the association's involvement.
He also recommended action against Commando Vaisakh who is in charge of duty in Sri Padmanabha Swamy temple. Vaisakh had reportedly issued a Whatsapp message regarding the postal ballots to the police personnel.
Police officials Arun Mohan, Ratheesh, Rajesh Kumar and Manikkuttan who sent the postal ballots will come under the scanner of the probe.
Meanwhile, involvement of Kerala Police Association in the postal ballot irregularity has been revealed.
The Chief Electoral Officer asked DGP to report the details on the involvement of Police Association in the postal ballot row. The police chief shall look into the complaint lodged by Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala regarding the foul play. Further, he should also investigate whether there were lapses on the part of the district nodal officers of the police department who were assigned the job of distributing the postal ballots, Mr. Meena said.