KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has directed the Alappuzha district police chief to personally supervise an investigation into allegations of caste-based discrimination at the Alappuzha district collectorate, following a complaint by a Scheduled Caste employee.

The directive was issued by Justice P V Kunhikrishnan while disposing of a petition filed by T Ranjith, a chaukidar at the collectorate’s control room. Ranjith alleged that he and another SC employee were barred from signing the main attendance register used by other staff and instead asked to sign a separate register, which is normally maintained for part-time cleaning and sweeping workers.

He claimed that when he protested the practice, a superior officer used casteist slurs against him. Although a criminal case was registered based on his complaint, Ranjith said no action was taken, allegedly because the accused also served as the secretary of the district police complaint authority.

While the government pleader informed the court that the DySP is currently investigating, the court underscored the sensitive nature of the case and asked the district police chief to oversee the probe for transparency and fairness.

The incident has sparked serious concerns about caste-based discrimination in government offices, especially practices that amount to modern-day untouchability.