CHENNAI: Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic-North), D Magesh Kumar, was placed under suspension on Thursday following a sexual harassment complaint from a woman traffic police constable.
Kumar, a deputy inspector general of police (DIG)-rank officer was posted in Traffic-South until December before being transferred to Traffic-North.
Sources said the complainant had lodged a complaint with Director General of Police (DGP) Shankar Jiwal, who subsequently placed Kumar under suspension.
The complaint has been referred to the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) on sexual harassment headed by senior IPS officer Seema Agarwal for further inquiry and possible registration of cases.
Kumar had reportedly been on medical leave for the past week.
This suspension adds to the growing scrutiny facing the police department, which has been marred by allegations of misconduct.
Earlier this month, a traffic policeman, along with a 16-year-old boy and his mother, was arrested under the POCSO Act for sexually assaulting a girl in the Mylapore area. The arrested policeman, Raman, worked as a driver for a traffic police inspector.
In another high-profile case, former IGP S Murugan is facing serious charges related to sexually suggestive remarks.
Murugan, a 1997-batch Group-1 officer, was accused by a woman SP of making lewd and sexually suggestive remarks over a period of time between 2017 and 2018.
Following the complaint, a case was registered against him in 2018 by the CB-CID, and a 112-page chargesheet was filed in August 2023, with Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi sanctioning the prosecution.
Murugan faces charges including wrongful confinement, assault, and sexual harassment under the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act. Despite being served the chargesheet, Murugan failed to attend trial proceedings and sought delays by employing a team of 10 lawyers. Additionally, he approached the Madras High Court to quash the case, but his petition was dismissed by Justice Sundara Mohan, who directed him to cooperate with the trial court.
During the hearing to frame charges, Murugan once again failed to appear, prompting the XI Metropolitan Magistrate to issue an arrest warrant for his appearance in court.
Earlier this year, the Tamil Nadu government allowed Murugan to retire at the time of his superannuation, but without prejudice to the ongoing judicial and disciplinary proceedings against him.