THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Giving relief to an aged mother who had knocked many doors to ensure justice is done to her son whose life was cut short by callous men in uniform, the CBI Special Court on Tuesday found all the six policemen guilty in connection with the custodial murder of Udaya Kumar, a 27-year-old, at Fort Police station on September 27, 2005.
K Jithukumar and S V Sreekumar, who took Udaya Kumar and his friend Suresh Kumar to the station from a park in the city, were found guilty of murder, and T Ajith Kumar (then SI), E K Sabu (then CI) and T K Haridas (then Assistant Commissioner) of fabricating evidences and hatching conspiracy.
The third accused, Soman, who was an additional SI at the time of murder, died during the trial. The quantum of punishment will be announced on Wednesday by CBI special court judge J Nasser. The first two accused were sent to remand while the rest have been asked to appear before the court on Wednesday.
Udaya Kumar and Suresh were whiling away time at Sreekandeshwaram Park when constables Jithukumar and Sreekumar apprehended them after they found `4,500 in his pocket. Suspecting that the cash was stolen, the policemen took them to the Fort station for interrogation. The pair were subjected to brutal third-degree treatment in a bid to extract confession from them.
Udaya Kumar was also subjected to ‘Uruttal’ — a colloquial term used to mention the torture method where the lower limbs are crushed using a heavy wooden pestle, something that was widely used on naxal sympathisers in Kerala during the Emergency.
Wait of 13 years; Relief for Prabhavati
It was the steadfastness exhibited by Prabhavati Amma, mother of Udaya Kumar, which brought the culprits to the dock. Udaya Kumar was her only child and the pangs of his death never went away.
On the morning before he went out, Udaya Kumar had promised his mother that he would be back soon. A promise that was never fulfilled.
“It was his body that came back to me. After his death, I haven’t slept for the past 13 years,” she said before breaking down into tears. “I wanted to provide my son justice so that when I meet him hereafter, I could tell that I have done enough for him,” she said.
Prabhavati added that mothers who had gone through similar experiences should come out and fight against the police brutality.
“Had mothers come out against the brutality earlier, such cases wouldn’t have repeated. No other mothers and children should go through such an experience again,” she said.
The visibly relieved mother said there were attempts to harm her, but she is least bothered about her safety now. “Attempts were made to kill me so that the culprits could escape. But I had no fear. I had lost my only child.”
She also thanked the judiciary for coming to her aid. “I am thankful to all who stood by me. Whenever I came to the court, even strangers would come and tell me not to give up. Earlier, I never went out for anything like this. After the tragedy struck, I thought I should go out. I wanted to go on until I get justice,” she said as her voice cracked.