Latvian women's murder case: Accused subjected to third-degree treatment by police, alleges kin

The relatives of the accused alleged the arrests were formally recorded soon after a Habeus Corpus complaint was filed by them.
Latvian national Liga Skromane (right) with her sister Ilze | File photo
Latvian national Liga Skromane (right) with her sister Ilze | File photo

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Though the duo are from Panathura, most of their relatives live in and around Paravila Colony and Vattom — across the bypass road. “Both of them were subjected to third-degree treatment. Police kept beating Udayan in front of Hari, his brother,” said one of them, still trembling with fear.A resident of Vattom too alleged police atrocities.“Hari and Udayan were taken into custody on April 24 while Umesh was picked up on April 25. They were mercilessly beaten up. Even when he was produced before court, Udayan was in tears due to pain from the police brutality,” said the middle-aged man preferring anonymity.

The relatives further said contrary to the police version, the duo had no connection with the tourism industry. Both of them have little knowledge of English — another claim made by the investigation team.
“Umesh had completed eighth standard while Udayan finished Plus Two. Both of them don’t speak English as claimed by the police. They are innocent,” said the duo’s relatives.Though livid against the police harassment, the residents pleaded not to reveal their names due to fear of police action.

“We are really frightened as the police can do anything. They can even implicate us in some false case. Some of us work in the tourism sector. Hence we can also be termed as culprits,” said another person working in the tourism industry.

According to the neighbours, Udayan has been a plumber while Umesh was working with a catering firm in the city. “There was a caste angle in the whole development as most of the people who were picked up for interrogation were from a particular caste,” a relative said.

Meanwhile, Karnan, a local leader of the Kerala Pulayar Maha Sabha, alleged third-degree torture by the police.“The police beat the accused after hanging them upside down. They applied chilli powder on their private parts,” he alleged.

The accused have lodged a complaint with the magistrate accusing the police of brutality.
The relatives of the accused alleged the arrests were formally recorded soon after a Habeus Corpus complaint was filed by them.“We had moved the Habeus Corpus complaint on Wednesday and after getting a whiff of our move, the police recorded their arrest on Thursday,” a relative said.

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