The Hindu : Kerala News : Police in the dock over death

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Kerala

Kerala

Police in the dock over death

Ignatius Pereira

Moves to absolve officer, allege constables

KOLLAM: Even as the Crime Branch investigation into a custodial death at the Kollam East police station on April 6 was over more than a week ago, the investigating officers are reportedly encountering problems when it comes to making arrests in connection with the case.

During the investigation, three police personnel emerged as the main accused. Sources in the force alleged that pressure "from above'' to be selective in effecting the arrests was holding up further procedures. This has triggered resent among the constables, and their representatives have already conveyed this to senior officers.

There are fears that investigations could be redirected in such a way that finally only constables and no officer would figure as accused in the case.

Thirty-six-year-old Rajendran who was taken into custody from a private hospital here on charges of theft was later found dead. Investigation based on autopsy report showed that Rajendran had died of internal injuries as a result of being brutally assaulted.

What has cornered the Kollam East police is that the investigation revealed that Rajendran had no criminal history and neither was he involved in any theft at the hospital as alleged. There are also no records with the police to hold that Rajendran was brutally assaulted at the private hospital.

Moreover, the investigation shows that after being taken into custody, he was taken out of the police station to the adjacent Museum complex by two constables attached to the crime squad of police station. Rajendran collapsed and died inside the interrogation room. It was after more than an hour after his death that he was taken to the District Hospital.

According to the autopsy report, internal injuries in the trunk and thorax had caused the death and these were inflicted by brutally punching him with some hard object. A knuckleduster was identified as the hard object with which the fatal punches were inflicted on Rajendran.

It is alleged that he was continuously punched in an effort to fix him in some theft cases. But he died.

In statements given to the investigating officers by the personnel attached to the East Police Station, an officer has been identified as the one who punched Rajendran with the knuckleduster. Now it is being alleged that there is an effort to absolve the officer and fix the crime on the constables.

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