THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Opposition on Thursday came down heavily on the government over the Nedumkandam custodial death, where a person accused in a financial crime case died after being subjected to torture on June 15.
The Opposition MLAs staged a walkout to protest against the lack of seriousness on the part of the government despite a rise in instances of custodial torture.
They said there were seven custodial deaths during the tenure of the LDF Government and 32 people lost their lives in connection with police action. Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala challenged Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to declare a judicial probe into the death of Rajkumar. He demanded action against Idukki SP KB Venugopal.
Squarely blaming the CPM and its minister M M Mani for supporting police officers, the protesting MLAs brought the issue of Hakeem, an autorickshaw driver, who was alleged tortured by Nedumkandam police at the same time when Rajkumar was in custody. “The Chief Minister is not serious on the issue. The issues are repeating because the CPM and a Minister is protecting criminals in Nedumkandam police station,” said Chennithala.