KOCHI: The state government on Tuesday directed the DGP to constitute a special team to probe the custodial murder of Sreejeev, 27, in Parassala police station in 2014.
The government also asked the state police chief to arrange and pay a token compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the victim’s relatives, in compliance with recommendations of the Kerala State Police Complaints Authority (SPCA), which studied the case.
Additional Chief Secretary Nalini Netto directed the DGP to probe the case further by suspending the culprit officers and realise the amount of compensation from them in a government order issued on September 3.
The SPCA, which studied the case for two years,had confirmed custodial violence as cause of Sreejeev's death. The SPCA probe found out that Sreejeev had been taken into police custody on May 19, 2014, and was brutally tortured by Circle Inspector Gopakumar and ASI Philippose with the support of civil police officers Vijayadas and Prathapachandran. The inquiry also revealed that the mahassar prepared by sub-inspector D Biju Kumar was factually incorrect and misleading.During a hearing in May, the SPCA recommended constitution of a special investigation team to probe the case and file a charge-sheet against culprit officers. In the inquiry,the Commission found that Sreejeev had actually been arrested to keep him away from his girl friend's marriage at the behest of her father.
The SPCA also discovered that he was administered a total dose of 230mg of Atropine at the Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, where he breathed his last on May 21, 2014.
The SPCA also verified the suicide note found from the victim's room at a lodge in Attingal with graphologists and termed it part of a desperate attempt by police to make it appear the victim had committed suicide.