Ex- Kerala DGP Rishiraj Singh tries to return misplaced items on train, later faces false theft allegation

Former Kerala DGP Rishiraj Singh

Former Kerala Director General of Police (DGP) Rishiraj Singh, who is known for his integrity, found himself in an embarrassing situation after he tried to return a pair of spectacles and a book to a co-passenger on a train, assuming it had been misplaced.

On a train journey in October, Singh was falsely accused of being a thief after he tried to return a pair of spectacles and a book to a co-passenger. The good-faith action ended with Singh missing his train, and the incident was distorted by media reports.

Singh was travelling in Vande Bharat express train from Thiruvananthapuram to Tirur in Malappuram when he noticed that a doctor, who was travelling with her husband and daughter, left her spectacles and a book on her seat when she got off the train at Ernakulam (Kochi).

Assuming that the doctor was deboarding at Kochi, the former IPS officer hurried onto the platform to return the spectacles but couldn’t find her. Meanwhile, the train began moving and its doors closed, leaving Singh’s personal belongings — including his mobile phone — inside. It later turned out that the doctor hadn’t deboarded; she had only come to see off her daughter, who got down at Kochi.

Stranded on the platform, Singh made arrangements to hand over the book and spectacles to the railway protection force. He then contacted the train’s travelling ticket examiner and requested that his personal belongings be given to those who would meet him at Tirur station.

As he also proceeded to Tirur in the next train, the doctor got down at Thrissur and complained to RPF that her spectacles and book were stolen from her seat in the train. Since, Singh was nowhere to be found, someone mistakenly assumed that the former IPS officer had stolen the expensive spectacles.

However, the Railway Protection Force informed the doctor that Singh had only handed over the spectacles and book. The doctor then called him to thank him. By that time, some online media outlets had already reported that the former DGP had stolen a co-passenger’s spectacles. They later issued a clarification, admitting it was misinformation. A 1985-batch Kerala cadre IPS officer, Singh was well known for moving around in disguise to detect crimes.

"The media apologised. I will not say anything about it anymore. Everyone knows the truth," the former DGP was quoted by Kerala Kaumudi as saying.