Three policemen arrested for custodial death

Aluva: Three Kerala policemen were arrested here on Wednesday for "wrongly" taking into custody a youth who died in a hospital three days later.

Sreejith, 26, who hails from Varapuzha near here, was arrested on April 7 after 56-year-old Vasudevan hanged himself to death as a group of men came to his house and threatened him.

A special squad of policemen attached to the Ernakulam's Superintendent of Police, Rural, took into custody Sreejith and nine more people and charged them with abetment to suicide and rioting.

Subsequently, Sreejith was brought to a hospital near here and died on April 9.

The opposition took up the issue, forcing the state police chief to appoint a special team led by Inspector General of Police S. Sreejith to probe the death.

Also, Vasudevan's son Vineesh recently said that Sreejith's arrest was a case of mistaken identity as it was some other Sreejith who had threatened his 56-year-old father.

The Kerala Human Rights Commission also took up the case and found out from preliminary reports that it was a clear case of "custodial torture".

The arrested policemen are the ones who first took the victim into custody.

Meanwhile, according to those in the know of things, more arrests are likely as the alleged involvement of other top officials has come to light.

The state government earlier suspended the circle inspector, sub inspector and two other policemen of the Varapuzha police station.