ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

Custodial killing rocks Kerala

D Jose in Thiruvananthapuram

The south Indian state of Kerala has been rocked by the custodial death of a retired government employee.

The victim, it must added, was not involved in any police case.

Sixtyfive-year-old A Thangal Kunhu, who retired from the public relations department, died half-an-hour after being taken into custody by the South Alappuzha police. Kunhu ended up with the law because his son, who was involved in a brawl, escaped from the police net.

A 10-member team reached the victim's house at 2300 hours on August 8 to arrest his son Benoj. When Benoj, who was severely beaten up in front of his parents, managed to break away and escape, the police turned their wrath on Kunhu, brutally assaulting him before taking him away in a jeep.

The police version is that they found Kunhu on the road and admitted him to the hospital at 2345 hours.

However, hospital records show that the victim was brought dead.

Human rights activists in Kerala have taken up the case, and the opposition, including the Bharatiya Janata Party, have demanded a high-level inquiry into it.

The state crime branch has commenced investigation from Monday. Its Superintendent Janardhanan Nair and Deputy Superintendents Abdul Salim and Narendran have taken up all cases pertaining to the death. In all, there are five cases related to the incident, including three framed against Kunhu after his custodial death.

State Director General of Police B S Sastry has already placed under suspension sub-inspector John Varghese, head constable Pradeep Kumar and three constables, following a preliminary inquiry.

According to sources in Alappuzha, Kunhu was the victim of a conspiracy hatched by a senior police officer, whose family members were involved in a property dispute with him (Kunhu). They said the police team, led by the sub-inspector, rushed to his house at 2245 hours on Saturday at the instance of the officer. This was soon after a case was registered against Benoj.

Benoj was wanted in connection with a complaint filed by one Rajesh, saying that Benoj attacked him.

No action has so far been initiated against the senior officer, at whose behest the police is alleged to have arrested the retired employee.

The police, human rights activists point out, have violated the Supreme Court guidelines regarding the arrest of a person in this case. The victim was arrested without any warrant. Further, the cops did not inform his wife or relatives where they were taking him. Though the police said he died at 2345 hours, the matter was reported to his family only the next morning. By then, the deceased was implicated in three cases.

The police also failed to adhere to the guidelines issued by Chief Minister E K Nayanar, who holds the home portfolio. Nayanar had issued 10 rules to be observed while dealing with a case.

The incident unfolded when the top district officers were busy with the visit of President K R Narayanan to the town.

While the Congress has demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident, the BJP held demonstrations in the town, demanding the chief minister quit the home portfolio in the light of the incident.

Congress leader G Karthikeyan demanded stern action against the culprits who, he said, were also responsible for assaulting his party workers and misbehaving with Communist Party of India state secretary P K Vasudevan Nair.

Tell us what you think of this report