Hence, it is entreated to exercise discretion on publication of this matter in the media till the completion of the inquiry for the impartial administration of justice,” he said. Reacting to the IPS Officers Association’s statement, several senior journalists in the state have registered their condemnation.

Reacting to the statement, Henri Tiphagne, the executive director of People’s Watch, told South First that if the government is interested in people, it would have registered an FIR and handed over the probe to an external investigation agency like CBCID. “But now the IPS Officers’ Association president has issued a statement saying that there is a media trial going on and it is very clear on whose side the IPS Officers’ Association is. The police are stooping to a very low level.”

“Only the media exposure and public pressure have led to the few follow-ups that we are witnessing today — whether it is the suspension of Balveer Singh IPS; placing SP Saravanan again on compulsory wait and the transfer of SB policemen, etc. This association had never opened its mouth when a senior male IPS officer had sexually harassed a woman IPS officer,” he said.