R. B. Sreekumar Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Profession(s)	Ex-IPS officer and Politician
Famous for	• Testifying against the Gujarat government after the 2002 Gujarat riots • Allegedly framing a false case of espionage against Nambi Narayanan
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 170 cm in meters- 1.70 m in feet & inches- 5’ 7”
Eye Colour	Dark Brown
Hair Colour	Salt and Pepper
Civil Service
Service	Indian Police Service (IPS)
Batch	1971
Cadre	Gujarat
Major Designation(s)	1972: Superintendent of Police in Gujarat 1979: Commandant of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) 1986: Director of Security (DIG) of the Gujarat Electricity Board 1987: Deputy Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) 2000: Additional Director General of Police of the Gujarat Police's Armed Constabulary 2002: Additional Director General of Police of the Gujarat Police's Intelligence Department
Politics
Political Party	Aam Aadmi Party (2014-present) [1]Business Standard
Awards	• Medal for Meritorious Service by the Government of India (1990) • Medal for Distinguished Service by the Government of India (1998)
Personal Life
Date of Birth	12 February 1947 (Wednesday)
Age (as of 2022)	75 Years
Birthplace	Ooruttambalam, Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala
Zodiac sign	Aquarius
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Ooruttambalam, Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala
College/University	Kerala University
Educational Qualification(s) [2]Firstpost	• MA History • MA Gandhian Philosophy • MA Literature • LLM in Criminology
Religion/Religious Views	He is an Ambedkarite who has deeply studied the Hindu scriptures as a Hindu scholar. [3]The Federal
Address	Plot No-193, Sreelekshmideepam, Sector-8, Gandhinagar-382008, Gujarat
Controversies	• Battering an accused in the custody: In 1986, an FIR was filed against R.B. Sreekumar for allegedly battering an accused in his custody. The violence left the accused with severe trauma. The case was closed in 1986 due to lack of evidence against Sreekumar. [4]Firstpost • Accused of wrongfully framing Nambi Narayanan of espionage: In 1994, a case was filed by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) against Nambi Narayanan for providing confidential information related to project Vikas rocket to two Malaysian spies named Mariam Rasheeda and Fousiya Hassan in lieu for sexual favours from the duo. Following a nationwide furore over the issue, the Government of India decided to hand over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). In 1997, the CBI submitted its report to the Supreme Court. In its report, it stated that the case against Nambi was false as it was missing critical facts. For example, according to the report filed by the Intelligence Bureau, the location of the suspect on the day when the supposed conspiratorial meeting took place, did not tally with the actual location of the accused. Owing to these facts, which were put forward by the CBI, the Supreme Court, in 1998, gave its judgement in favour of Nambi and ordered the Kerala government to pay a compensation of Rs 50 lakh to Nambi Narayanan. The Supreme Court further ordered the Kerala government to crack down on the conspirators within the Kerala police as well as in the Intelligence Bureau. [5]ThePrint In 2014, R. B. Sreekumar, who was the Deputy Director of the IB in 1994, was accused by Nambi Narayanan of falsely framing his name under the ISRO espionage case. He further accused him of mentally and physically torturing him to force him into giving a false videotaped confession. [6]OpIndia In his officially recorded statement by the CBI, Nambi stated, "When Sreekumar was commandant at VSSC, he had requested me to appoint his niece or nephew to a post at Thumba, but since the process was fair, she/he could not be selected. Then Sreekumar had come to my office to express his anger to which I had asked him to go out or else I would call the police. Sreekumar had said that I will regret this in the future.” Siby Mathews, who, in 1994, was the Chief of Kerala Police, also accused Sreekumar of forcing him to register a false complaint of espionage against the former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan. While giving a statement in his defence, R. B. Sreekumar told the CBI that he was not directly involved with the interrogation of Nambi, and he had only interrogated the two Malaysian spies for two days. [7]OpIndia • Accused of procuring false evidence against the PM in the Supreme Court: When the Supreme Court, in June 2022, rejected a joint plea filed by R. B. Sreekumar, Teesta Setalvad (along with CJP), Sanjiv Bhatt, and Zakia Jafri, the Gujarat police's Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) arrested Sreekumar and Teesta Setalvad for presenting false evidence in the court against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The court also reprimanded the trio of playing with the emotions of the 2002 Gujarat riots victim Zakia Jafri. An FIR was registered against the duo under Sections 468, 471 (forgery), 194 (giving or fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction of capital offence), 211 (institute criminal proceedings to cause injury), 218 (public servant framing incorrect record or writing with intent to save a person from punishment or property from forfeiture), and 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. [8]The Hindu [9]The Indian Express The Supreme Court, in its official judgement, stated, "At the end of the day, it appears to us that a coalesced effort of the disgruntled officials of the State of Gujarat along with others was to create a sensation by making revelations which were false to their own knowledge. The falsity of their claims had been fully exposed by the SIT after a thorough investigation … As a matter of fact, all those involved in such abuse of process, need to be in the dock and proceed in accordance with the law. The proceedings have been pursued for the last 16 years to keep the pot boiling, for ulterior design.” After Nambi Narayanan came to know of R. B. Sreekumar's arrest, he said that Sreekumar followed a similar plan against him while framing him in the false ISRO espionage case. [10]CNN-News18 In an interview, Nambi said, "I came to know that he was arrested today for keeping on fabricating stories & trying to sensationalise them, there was a charge against him. It is exactly what he did in my case. Our system is such that anybody can say any loose statement and get away with that. I’m very happy to note that he has been arrested because there is a limit for everything and he is crossing all the limits in terms of decency.”
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Family
Wife/Spouse	Rajalakshmi
Children	Daughter- Deepa (lawyer)

Some Lesser Known Facts About R. B. Sreekumar

• R. B. Sreekumar is a 1971 batch retired IPS officer. He came to the public’s attention for testifying against the Gujarat government after the 2002 Gujarat riots. He is also known for his alleged role in framing ISRO’s former rocket scientist Nambi Narayanan in an espionage case.

• In 1971, after completing his graduation, R. B. Sreekumar was employed at Kerala University as a lecturer. After working there for a few months, in 1971, he appeared for the all-India UPSC examination, and after clearing the examination on his first attempt, he attended the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Telangana for training.

• In 1972, he was commissioned as an IPS officer of the Gujarat cadre.
  

  A photo of R. B. Sreekumar in his IPS uniform

• During the initial years of his police service, R. B. Sreekumar was posted as the Superintendent of Police (SP) in seven districts in Gujarat.

• In 1979, R. B. Sreekumar was sent on a deputation to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) as a Commandant; he held the post till 1984.

• In 1986, R. B. Sreekumar was promoted to the rank of a DIG after which he served as the Director of Security with the Gujarat Electricity Board till 1987.

• In 1987, R. B. Sreekumar played an important role in conducting a series of five counter-espionage operations in the Kutch region of Gujarat. R. B. Sreekumar foiled the infiltration attempts of the Pakistani spies, who were tasked with providing arms and ammunition to the militants in India. militants in India. This earned him an appreciation from the then Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) H. A. Barari.

• In the same year, R. B. Sreekumar was posted to the Intelligence Bureau (IB) as a Deputy Director.

• In 1994, R. B. Sreekumar’s career plummeted after he was accused of satisfying his agenda against the ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan by wrongfully framing him in an espionage case.

• In 2000, R. B. Sreekumar was posted back to Gujarat after serving the IB in Kerala. After returning to Gujarat, he was promoted to the rank of Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), and he was given charge of the armed unit of the Gujarat police. He held charge of the armed unit until the end of the 2002 Gujarat riots.

• In 2002, after the end of the Gujarat riots, R. B. Sreekumar was posted as the head of the intelligence department of the Gujarat police.

• In the same year, after the riots, R. B. Sreekumar testified against the then Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi and the Gujarat government before the Nanavati-Mehta Commission. He became one of the few high-ranking government officials who testified against the Gujarat government by filing a total of nine affidavits. In an interview, Sreekumar said,
  

  Now I am telling you about the environment at that time. All the vakeels were on the VHP side; all judges, many of the judges were also on the VHP side, right; doctors also did not treat patients because they were Muslims. In that situation what can be done? Tell me. Bail applications neglected, what can we (Home Department) … stay on … What can we say? The entire society is like that. PP (public prosecutor) again… discussion held with Law Minister.”

• In 2002, the Gujarat government submitted a report on the 2002 Gujarat riots to the Election Commission of India. In its report, the Gujarat government requested the Election Commission for early elections in the state and claimed that the state authorities had managed to bring the riots under control. On the contrary, in the same year, R. B. Sreekumar submitted his report to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), J. M. Lyngdoh, advising him to postpone the elections. R. B. Sreekumar’s report stated that out of 182 constituencies in Gujarat, 152 constituencies were under the severe effects of the widespread riots. Taking note of Sreekumar’s report, the Election Commission of India stated,
  

  In this environment, election campaigns evoking passions will only shatter the fragile peace unless adequate confidence-building measures are taken up in earnestness and with urgency. Foremost among these would be to arrest and punish the guilty, irrespective of their status and rank for their crimes. The Commission referred to the statement of the Additional Director-General of Police, R.B. Sreekumar, that 151 towns and 993 villages, covering 154 out of 182 Assembly constituencies in the State and 284 police stations out of 464 were affected by the riots. This evidently falsifies the claims of the other authorities that the riots were localised only in certain pockets of the State.”

• In 2005, after falling out of favour with the Narendra Modi-led Gujarat government, R. B. Sreekumar was shunted and denied a promotion to the rank of Director General of Police (DGP).

• In 2006, Sreekumar challenged the decision of the Gujarat government and appealed to the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). The tribunal gave its judgement in favour of R. B. Sreekumar in 2008, a year after his retirement. In its judgement, the tribunal stated that the Gujarat government’s decision was unlawful. While giving an interview, Sreekumar said,
  

  I filed my case in 2005 and got justice now. It is a big victory against a dispensation that is vindictive and malafide. Compared to victims of cases like Naroda Patia who are still struggling, this delay is nothing. I would request other officers to fight against this government.”

• In 2008, R. B. Sreekumar published a book titled Gujarat: Irakalkkuvendi Oru Porattam. The book was published in his native language, Malayalam, and it was based on the 2002 Gujarat riots.

• R. B. Sreekumar published two more books on the 2002 Gujarat riots in English, The Diary of a Helpless Man (2013) and Gujarat: Behind the Curtain (2016).
  

  R. B. Sreekumar holding the Urdu edition of his book Gujarat: Behind the Curtain during its launch event

• In a letter written to the Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, on 12 September 2017, R. B. Sreekumar demanded that the CM should declare the literary works of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar, such as Annihilation of Caste, in the educational curriculum of the schools being run by the state.

• In 2017, R. B. Sreekumar wrote another letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to declare Thirukural, a Tamil literature, as one of the national books of India.

• R. B. Sreekumar’s grandfather, Balaramapuram G. Raman Pillai, was a freedom fighter, journalist, and critic.

• R. B. Sreekumar has an interest in music, and in his leisure time, he loves to play the sitar, an Indian musical instrument.
  

  R. B. Sreekumar with the Sitar