A senior Kerala police officer who allegedly held secret meetings with RSS leaders has been removed from his post.

According to a government order, M.R. Ajith Kumar, the additional director-general in charge of law and order, will now be ADGP (battalion), a responsibility he had additionally been shouldering.

The order did not say whether the decision was part of any disciplinary action.

Kumar is believed to be close to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Sources said Vijayan was hoping the “perfunctory” move would bring the curtains down on the controversy over the alleged nexus between the RSS and the CPM in Kerala. There has been no information on what transpired at Kumar’s alleged meetings with RSS leaders Dattatreya Hosabale and Ram Madhav.

State CPI secretary Benoy Viswam said: “This is not just a victory of the CPI but of the entire LDF government. A senior officer had met the RSS leadership, not once but twice, under mysterious circumstances. The air of suspicion needs to be cleared.”