KOCHI: The first accused in the Kathiroor Manoj murder case has filed a complaint before the Ernakulam CBI Court-III saying the police handcuffed him and the co-accused while producing them before the court on May 25.
The complainant Vikraman said the duo was also not allowed to speak to their relatives. He had put his grievance in the complaint box at the Ernakulam Sub Jail where they are lodged. The jail superintendent handed over the complaint to the Ernakulam CBI Court on Tuesday. On Wednesday morning, the court forwarded the complaint to the Kochi City Police Commissioner, directing him to conduct a preliminary inquiry and submit the report to the court, said CBI officers.
The officers claimed handcuffing murder accused while producing them before the court was the usual practice.
“Similarly, the accused require the court’s permission to speak to family members, even if they are present in the court. No permission was sought in this instance,” said the officers.
Altogether, 16 persons have been arraigned in the Kathiroor Manoj case. They were shifted from the Kannur Central Jail to the Ernakulam Sub Jail after a Supreme Court order. Manoj, an RSS leader, was hacked to death in September, 2014, in Kannur.