The Kerala government on Wednesday decided to promote senior IPS officer ADGP M R Ajithkumar to the rank of Director General of Police.

He was recently embroiled in a political row over his "controversial meetings" with RSS leaders.

A close confidant of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the ADGP rank officer was stripped of the state's law and order duties and posted to the Armed Police Battalion in October, following the controversies and allegations against him.

However, a cabinet meeting chaired by CM Vijayan on Wednesday decided to approve his promotion. The 1995-batch IPS officer will be elevated to the top position.

A statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said that the cabinet had approved the recommendations submitted by the scrutiny committee.

Besides Ajithkumar, S Suresh, another 1995-batch officer, will also be promoted to DGP, the statement added.

The promotion list for the top rank will be finalised after the appointment of Manoj Abraham, a 1994-batch officer.

Tarun Kumar, a 2000-batch IPS officer, will be promoted to ADGP, while four officers from the 2007 batch will be promoted to the IG rank, the CMO said.

Ajithkumar had been under fire from the opposition and the CPI for his meetings with senior RSS leaders last year, as well as for his alleged role in the disruption of the Thrissur Pooram.

Congress accused the police of disrupting the festival to help the BJP win the Lok Sabha seat from central Kerala.

Independent MLA P V Anvar, who recently severed ties with the ruling LDF, also made serious charges against the officer, which were later rejected by him.

Meanwhile, the opposition Congress strongly criticised the CPI(M)-led LDF government over Ajithkumar's promotion, alleging that it was because "CM Vijayan had surrendered to the RSS".

Although Ajithkumar has been facing various allegations, including illegal amassing of wealth, connections to gold smuggling rackets, and involvement in the disruption of the Thrissur Pooram festival, none of these have affected his promotion, KPCC Chief K Sudhakaran alleged.

He further claimed that all the ongoing cases against Ajithkumar would be closed soon, adding that if proper disciplinary actions had been taken earlier, the promotion could have been avoided.

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