Thiruvananthapuram: The top leadership of the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) government in Kerala appears to be divided over the transfer of an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, who is facing legal trouble.

On either side of the debate are chief minister Oommen Chandy and, minister for cooperation, C N Balakrishnan.

The differences were triggered when Tomin J Thachankary, an officer of inspector-general rank, was removed from the post of managing director of state-owned Consumerfed. The crux of the issue is whether the chief minister was informed about the removal of the managing director.

Thachankary has been moved as the managing director of the Kerala Books and Publishing Society (KBPS), another state-government undertaking as well. The KBPS has not had a permanent managing director for more than a year.

Thachankary has had allegations of misconduct filed against him in the past, and faced a vigilance investigation.

Minister Balakrishnan explained that it was a “routine” administrative decision and that he himself had not ordered the transfer. The mystery deepened when Thachankary said he had not got any order of the reported transfer. He, however, added that he would move if he did get the order.

Ironically, Thachankary who is facing charges in multiple cases, had recently taken initiatives to tackle some developments in Consumerfed, which he thought were going against the interests of the organisation. He had also proposed a vigilance department inquiry against some people in Consumerfed.

He had recently sent back a candidate appointed as general manager by the cooperation department, pointing out that the appointment went against the decision of the Consumerfed board to appoint a person to the post of general-manager based on merit, after interviewing candidates from a shortlist of 50 people.

Since he has not got the order of transfer, Thachankary has continued to hold the post of managing director of Consumerfed. However, the development is seen to be an image setback for the UDF government, with the chief minister himself seen to be slighted by the incident.