R. Jayaram Padikkal was an IPS officer. He had served as the Director General of Police (DGP), the highest rank in the force in the period 1993–94.

Early years

Jayaram Padikkal I.P.S. was born in Peruvemba village

Palghat Palakkad (), Renaming of cities in India, also known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery, is a city and a municipality in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of P ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

as the son of an Indian Army officer and had his education in Pune. He was said to be a good hockey player and a voracious reader, especially history, crime and philosophy and later joined the

Indian Police Service The Indian Police Service (IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became Partition of India, independent from the British Empire. Along with the Indian Admini ...

. In 1982 he was made the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), for the state of

and thus became the youngest DIG in the country. He was one of the few Indian Police officers to have received training at the

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...

. He was a recipient of ''President's Police Medal''.

Controversy

When he was Deputy Inspector General (Crime Branch) of Kerala police, he and

Sub inspector Sub-inspector (SI), or sub-inspector of police or police sub-inspector (PSI), is a rank used extensively in South Asia: in the police forces of Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka, which are primarily based on the British model. It was form ...

Pulikkodan Narayanan were accused of complicity in the torture and death of a student named

Rajan Rajan may refer to: *Raja, an Indian title for kings *Rajan (name), an Indian name * Rajan, a character in the 2024 Indian sci-fi film ''Kalki 2898 AD ''Kalki 2898 AD'' () is a 2024 Indian Telugu language, Telugu-language Epic film, epic Mytho ...

at the hands of the police during the period of The Emergency. He was convicted but the conviction was overturned on appeal. He was known to maintain a good relationship with the then Kerala Chief minister K. Karunakaran. In 1972, as District

Superintendent of Police Superintendent (Supt) is a rank in the British police and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries, the full version is superintendent of police (SP). The rank is also used in most British Overseas Territori ...

Thrissur Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...

, Padikkal was involved in brutally assaulting Nawab Rajendran and destroying his press office. Its alleged that the attack was in retaliation to Nawab Rajendran's investigative journalism

scoop Scoop, Scoops or The Scoop may refer to: Artefacts * Scoop (machine part), a component of machinery to carry things * Scoop (tool), a shovel-like tool, particularly one deep and curved, used in digging * Scoop (theater), a type of wide area l ...

against corruption done by then Home Minister K. Karunakaran in the land acquisition for setting up

Kerala Agricultural University Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) is a State university (India), state university for agricultural education, recognised as a State Agricultural University by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). It is situated in Vellanikkara ...

at Thrissur. A book about his life and career, called ''The Crime Diary of Jayaram Padikkal'', was written by Venganoor Balakrishnan in 1997. It describes him as "a NOTORIOUS and controversial IPS officer from Kerala, India." He died in the same year, after falling ill. Before that, he was attacked by some militants on his way from

Ernakulam Town railway station Ernakulam Town (also known as Ernakulam North) (station code: ERN) is an NSG–3 category Indian railway station in Thiruvananthapuram railway division of Southern Railway zone. It is a railway station in the city of Kochi, Kerala. It is th ...

to his home nearby.

In media

A main character of 2018 film

Kaattu Vithachavar ''Kaattu Vithachavar'' (meaning: people scattered by the wind) is a 2018 Malayalam film which is based on atrocities committed by the Kerala police during the Indian Emergency period. It mentions the Rajan case, Kakkayam torture camp and Urutt ...

References

Popular culture

In 2006 an experimental drama 'Ormakal Zindabad' (Memories longlive) staged in certain places in Kerala, directed by G.Ajayan based on the custodial death of Rajan. The parts of leading characters Jayaram Padikkal and Rajan were done by Salih Rawther and Shabu Madhavan respectively Ormakal zindabad drama

{{DEFAULTSORT:Padikkal, Jayaram Indian police chiefs Indian police officers Kerala Police officers People from Kerala 1936 births 1997 deaths