THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The duo was taken to the Fort Police station where the two police officers along with K V Soman, who was an additional sub-inspector at that time, subjected Udayakumar to third-degree torture. He was subjected to ‘uruttal’--- where his legs were crushed using an iron rod. Udayakumar died in the evening. The case was first investigated by the state police and later handed over to the CBI by the Kerala High Court on a plea by Udayakumar’s mother Prabhavathi Amma.
Even for the CBI, it was a difficult case. It had to rely on evidence of approval as well as corroborative evidence of cops. But since the senior police officers did not support the prosecution, they had to go by circumstantial evidence as well as approval.
Though Suresh, who was the key witness, turned hostile at a later stage, the prosecution had already benefited out of his statements. “Suresh had helped us to some extent,” said senior prosecutor T C Manoj Kumar, who appeared for the CBI. “He turned hostile at a particular point, but by then he had already identified the accused during a parade.”
Meanwhile, Manoj termed the verdict as a warning against police officers who think they have absolute power. “The verdict should be a deterrent against police atrocity, illegal extraction of confession and third-degree treatment of those in custody,” he added. Though the court has made it clear action can be taken against Suresh for perjury on the account of him turning hostile, the prosecution said it will not be doing it. Meanwhile, Manoj said the prosecution will check the possibility of filing an appeal against the three-year term against three accused.