State told to look into passports distribution

KOCHI: The Ernakulam Judicial First Class Magistrate Court on Friday directed the state government to conduct a departmental inquiry into the incident in which the police returned the passport of Alex C Joseph, who had been detained under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Act (COFEPOSA).Dismissing Alex’s bail plea, Magistrate A Ijas observed that, prima facie, the conduct of the Tiruvalla police was a deliberate move to conceal or destroy evidence.It would be appropriate to hand over the investigation to a superior officer, the court held. The prosecution submitted that Alex had forged a passport in 1994 in the name of Abi John and used it for travelling.The Shamshabad police had handed over the passport to Tiruvalla police along with the custody of the accused. En route to Thiruvananthapuram from Tiruvalla, Alex was admitted to the Adoor Taluk hospital for a medical examination. At that time, Tiruvalla SI Vinod Krishnan handed the passport back to Alex. Senior Civil Police Officer Satheesan was also present, the court pointed out.The Investigating Officer in the fake passport case now suspects that the accused had concealed the passport with the intention of destroying evidence. “The conduct of the police officers is unbelievable. Instead of producing the passport before the concerned authority or the court, the SI handed it over to an accused. The manner in which the Tiruvalla police handled the matter raises serious doubts,” the court said.The accused was detained under COFEPOSA for importing 500 high-end cars, mainly BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota, from the Gulf countries.