Former Special Director-General of police Rajesh Das was convicted on Friday by a Tamil Nadu court for sexually harassing junior officer. He was sentenced to three years imprisonment and fine Rs 10,000. Also, a fine of Rs 500 was imposed on a male police officer who had tried to stop his colleague from registering the complaint against her boss.
Meanwhile, the TN local court granted bail to Das and allowed 30 days time for appeal. The woman IPS officer had filed a complaint against the senior officer in February 2021, alleging the officer had made sexual advances when they were travelling on duty for the security of the then Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palanisami.
Ahead of the 2021 Assembly election, the incident had rocked the government. The state had set up a six-member committee to probe the complaint. Later Das was suspended and Jayanth Murali, Additional Director General in-charge of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption took over.
Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, then Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader had assured legal process and punishment. He had said that such behaviour towards women will not be tolerated.
