KANNUR: A 45-year-old man hailing from Tamil Nadu, who was in police custody, was brought dead to a hospital in Thalassery on Sunday. The custodial death in Thalassery police station caused commotion, with BJP and Congress workers staging a protest against police brutality and demanding a probe.
According to the police, the deceased was identified as Kalimuthu of Salem in Tamil Nadu. He, along with one Raju, 42, was handed over to the police by the people.
The police claimed that people had earlier manhandled and beaten them up for suspected robbery. However, the police, who, without producing them before the court and kept them in custody, found Kalimuthu unconscious inside the jail cell. Even though he was rushed to Thalassery Government Hospital, the doctor declared him brought dead. The body was later shifted to Kozhikode Medical College Hospital and the post-mortem would be conducted later.
Meanwhile, the other accused Raju was admitted to Thalassery General Hospital.
The custodial death created huge uproar, with political parties demanding an inquiry against the police. However, the police claimed innocence and said that they had taken the deceased into custody only on Saturday. But there reports that he was taken into custody on Friday and was kept under illegal custody.
Thalassery MLA A N Shamseer also demanded that an investigation should be conducted case and if any malpractice was found, action should be taken against the police personnel involved.