KOCHI: A day after the CBI arrested prime accused SI Sabu K J in the Nedumkandam custodial death case, the agency arrested the six police officials of Nedumkandam police station, who were the co-accused in the case, on Tuesday.
The arrested persons were ASI Regimon C B, driver/civil police officers Niyas S, Sajeev Antony, home guard James K M, civil police officer Jithin K George and ASI Roy P Varghese.
The accused were first arrested by the Crime Branch, but later granted bail by the High Court. The CBI decided to arrest them again based on the verdict of the Supreme Court on a petition filed by the state government challenging the High Court verdict allowing bail to first accused SI Sabu.
“The Supreme Court has set aside the High Court’s decision and ordered to arrest ‘police officers’ instead of a police officer. Hence, we decided to arrest all the accused. We have sought eight days custody of the accused,” said a CBI officer. It was around 5.30pm that the accused were produced before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate in the absence of Chief Judicial Magistrate.
The counsel of the accused persons submitted that they were not respondents in the case disposed of by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court did not hear them before ordering their rearrests. The court later remanded the accused persons to judicial custody till March 2. The court will hear the bail petition and custody application filed before CBI on Wednesday.
Rajkumar, 53, of Wagamon was taken into custody by police as part of a case registered under Kerala Money Lenders Act on June 12, 2019. He was kept in illegal custody till June 15 before recording his arrest. After being remanded to Peermade sub-jail, he died at a hospital on June 21. Initial autopsy had stated that death occurred due to pneumonia. However, a re-autopsy carried out on August 2019 revealed 22 physical injuries.