KOCHI: Though the police claim that Irumpanam native Manoharan, who was assaulted by a police officer during a vehicle check, died of a heart attack, his relatives are not ready to buy the police theory. They said that brutal assault by the officers and the subsequent mental trauma led to his death.
“Besides sub-inspector Jimmy Jose, other police officers who were with him during the vehicle inspection also roughed him up. There are eyewitnesses to the incident. They should also be brought before the law,” said Dileep Kumar C K, brother of Manoharan.
Now the police are trying to portray the death as due to a heart attack based on the post-mortem report. However, the assault on his face, subsequent dragging to the police vehicle, and the mental trauma he suffered after he was assaulted in front of people who were known to him triggered the heart attack.
Sub-Inspector Jimmy Jose was suspended from service after the incident triggered an uproar. During a vehicle check on Karshaka Road at Irumpanam, Manoharan, a local resident and owner of a spare parts shop, could not abruptly stop his motorcycle when police waved him down.
However, he stopped his two-wheeler a few metres ahead of the parked police vehicle. Angered by this, the officers roughed him up when he removed his helmet. During the melee, they took his breath test using alcometer and found that he was not drunk.
“Then why did they drag him to the police jeep and take him to the police station?” asked Dileep. He said they suspect that police officials assaulted him on the spot and inside the police jeep while taking him to the station.
Manhoran’s mother Pankajam said he had no other illness. “A detailed inquiry should be carried out. He returned home after the job and gave food to his children and left saying he will come back soon on that fateful day,” she added.
Meanwhile, state Congress president K Sudhakaran visited Manoharan’s house. He demanded the government take over the education expenses of the two school-going children of Manoharan and provide a government job to his wife.
“Eking out a living by running a small spare parts shop, Manoharan was the sole breadwinner of the family. Stringent action should be initiated against the officers who were responsible for his death. Allegations are rife that police are trying to portray it as death due to a heart attack,” he said.