KOCHI: Muhammed Suhail, husband of law student Mofiya Praveen who died by suicide in her house, and his parents Yusuf and Rukia were arrested on Wednesday in connection with the case. However, Aluva East station house officer C L Sudheer who allegedly humiliated Mofiya, which was said to be the immediate provocation for her suicide, was let off with a transfer.
The Aluva East police arrested Suhail, Yusuf and Rukia from Kothamangalam, where they were hiding in a relative’s house. They had fled after the news of 21-year-old Mofiya’s death spread on Tuesday. The police booked them under IPC Sections 304 B (dowry death), 498 A (cruelty to woman) and 306 (abetment of suicide).
The three were questioned for over eight hours by Ernakulam Range DIG Neeraj Kumar Gupta and Ernakulam Rural SP K Karthick. They will be produced before the court on Thursday, the police said.
Meanwhile, SHO Sudheer got a clean chit in the report filed by the Aluva DySP who probed the alleged lapses and misbehaviour by the officer when Mofiya was summoned to the police station.
The report, submitted to Karthick on Wednesday, said Sudheer had committed only a ‘minor mistake’.
“There wasn’t any big mistake committed by the officer. The girl slapped her husband in front of the officer. It might have provoked the SHO.
The incident occurred when both Mofiya and Suhail were asked to appear in the station as part of recording their statements,” a top officer said, requesting anonymity. He said the report was prepared based on the statements of other petitioners who were present at the police station on Monday.
Protests mount for removal of SHO
Kochi: “Even outsiders who were present at that time denied any provocative behaviour on the part of the officer. It was only after Mofiya slapped Suhail that the officer lashed out at her,” said the report.
However, with protests mounting from different quarters to remove him from the post, state police chief Anil Kant issued an order late in the evening on Wednesday transferring Sudheer with immediate effect. He also directed the officer to appear for a further posting.