KASARGOD: Three personnel of Kumbla police station, including an SI, have been transferred to Kanhangad Highway police following the death of a 17-year-old due to injuries he suffered in an alleged police chase.
Kumbla SI S R Rajith, and civil police officers Deepu and Ranjith have been transferred following protests from the relatives of Kunnil Veettil Farhas, the Plus-II student who died, and political parties. Farhas’ relatives demanded slapping murder charges on the officers responsible for his death.
District police chief Vaibhav Saxena, who ordered a crime branch investigation, said further steps will be taken based on the probe report. His relatives alleged Farhas was injured when the car in which he and four others were travelling overturned at Kalathur Pallam on August 25 after the Kumbla police team chased them. He died at a hospital in Mangaluru on August 29.
The police spotted the vehicle parked in front of Angadimugar GHSS on August 25. Suspicious, they approached the car. However, the youths drove away quickly, following which the team chased them.
Youth’s mother seeks action against cops
Farhas’ relatives alleged that the youths, four of them believed to be minors, panicked and drove at a high speed after the police chased them.
The car turned turtle around 5km from the school. Grievously injured, Farhas was rushed to a hospital in Kumbla and then taken to the Mangaluru hospital.
Though the police said Farhas was driving at the time of the incident, his relatives produced the licence of one of the boys, claiming he was the one behind the wheel.
Safiya, Farhas’ mother, has lodged a complaint before Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking action against the cops involved in the incident. The relatives said they would move to court if they were not satisfied with the police probe.
Farhas, the son of the late Abdulla of Kannur, is survived by his mother Safiya, and siblings Sabir, Ismail, Faizy, Fayas and Fainas.