THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Justice Narayana Kurup, who carried out the inquiry into the infamous Nedumkandam custodial death of a 49-year-old man, has recommended the government that the suspects who are taken into police custody shall be subjected to an intense medical screening to ascertain whether they are tortured by the police during interrogation. This was one among six sets of recommendations made in the report, which was tabled by the government in the assembly.
In his 153-page report, Justice Kurup, who headed the judicial commission, wrote that the screening should be done to unearth the ‘iceberg phenomenon’. Kurup’s report had clearly pointed out that death of Rajkumar, who was an accused in a chit fund scam, was a result of physical torture he had been subjected to at Nedumkandam police station. Based on the report, the government said it would dismiss six officers, who had tortured the victim in the lock-up.
‘Iceberg phenomenon’ in this context refers to internal injuries inflicted by the police without any external marks. Rajkumar, the report said, died due to multiple organ failure arising out of complications due to the custodial torture. Though Rajkumar was produced before doctors of the taluk hospitals in Peermade and Nedumkandam, and Kottayam Medical College Hospital, they overlooked the injuries, the report said.
It was on the basis of this finding that Justice Kurup wrote that the Director of Health Services (DHS) and the Director of Medical Education (DME) should ensure that the persons in police custody should be subjected to detailed medical tests.
He wrote that the tests including renal profile, creatine phosphokinase (CPK) test (which determines the levels of enzymes in the bloodstream) and ultrasound scan of the abdomen should be performed to check internal damage.“It is for the members of the medical community to detect hidden injuries, which will serve as a major deterrent against torture as the culprit will then be exposed to the likelihood of being proceeded against in accordance with law,” he wrote.
The report made it clear that Rajukumar was subjected to inhumane treatment, including insertion of the midrib of a coconut leaf in his urethra. “Rajkumar had suffered a temporary kidney failure. This could have been reversed had he been given effective treatment. But the doctors failed to do so. His death could have been averted with proper medical intervention,” Justice Kurup told TNIE. The report also said the
doctors should be insulated from the police pressure to cover up injuries during physical examination.