Man dies in police custody in Kerala; Cong seeks murder charges against officers involved

The death of a man in police custody at Tripunithura near here has led to strong protests by the locals of the area and Youth Congress workers on Sunday demanding action against all the officers involved in the incident.

The death of a man in police custody at Tripunithura near here has led to strong protests by the locals of the area and Youth Congress workers on Sunday demanding action against all the officers involved in the incident. Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly V D Satheesan demanded lodging of a case under Section 302 (murder) of IPC against all the police officers in this regard. ''The police who are unable to protect women are stopping two-wheeler riders on the road and behaving so cruelly with them. If they (concerned police officers) are not booked for murder and an investigation initiated, Kochi will witness another protest,'' he contended. Police, earlier in the day, suspended a sub inspector of Hill Palace police station who was accused by the locals of having beaten the victim. The incident occurred on Saturday evening when the victim, Manoharan, was asked to stop his motorbike by a squad from the Hill Palace police station during routine vehicle checking. As he did not stop, the squad chased him down and asked him why he did not stop. According to a woman who claims to be an eyewitness to what transpired, the victim claimed he was scared and that is why he did not stop. ''He said he was scared and that is why he did not stop. When he took off his helmet, one of the police officers slapped him hard on his face without any reason. ''They gave him a breath analyser test which indicated he was not drunk. Despite that they bundled him into the police jeep and took him away. Later in the night I heard he had died. He was such a nice man. He never consumed alcohol,'' the woman who lives in the same area as the victim told TV channels. As news of the incident spread, locals and Youth Congress workers and Congress leaders gathered at the police station demanding action against all the officers in the squad and the Circle Inspector (CI). Allegations of excessive use of force were also made against the CI by the Congress leaders. The protest, which began in the morning, continued till late afternoon with the locals and YC workers gathered outside the station demanding action against all the officers of the squad. A senior police officer of Kochi city confirmed the suspension and said an inquiry has been launched. ''We are awaiting the post mortem report to ascertain the cause of death and further proceedings would be taken according to that,'' he said. The victim, who is over 50 years old, was the sole breadwinner of his family, including his wife and two children, the locals said. ''Who will look after them now?'' they said.

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