Kerala Motor Vehicles Inspector Association press for their leader in sex abuse case

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala Motor Vehicles Department Gazetted Officers’ Associ-ation has threatened the motor vehicles departments that its members will keep away from conducting tests for women from April 17 unless accompanied by women supervisers. The move is an apparent effort to save an MVI who was suspended for alleged misbehaviour with a woman in Kollam during a driving test, MVD sources said. Transport commissioner S. Aananthakrishnan had on March 30 suspended A.S. Vinod, general secretary of the association, from service after an inquiry by a senior law officer of transport commissionerate found him prima facie guilty of the charge.

The woman had alleged in her petition to the transport commissioner that Vinod made physical advance towards her and talked in a lewd manner during the road test as part of driving licence test held at Ashramam ground in Kollam in the second week of March. He also continued to call her on mobile phone several times thereafter. Sources said the Association started exerting pressure on the government to revoke the suspension alleging that the complaint was false and that the transport commissioner conducted no proper inquiry. It has already given a representation to new transport minister Thomas Chandy to this effect.