'Cops' broke into ex- MLA Simon Britto's house, jewellery missing: wife alleges

Seema Bhaskar, the wife of highly respected late CPIM leader Simon Britto, alleged that police had broken into the couple's house at Vaduthala and subsequently jewellery stored in the loft went missing.

Seena lodged the complaint on November 1 to Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the Kochi City police Commissioner seeking action, according to The News Minute.

As well as entering the house, the police also broke into the loft where mementoes of awards Britto had received alongside ten sovereigns of gold jewellery were stored, which went missing after the raid.

Seena found the house in a mess as rushed there from attending a funeral, as per the complaint reported by TNM.

A group of people, she told TNM, claiming to be cops attached to the Njarakkal police station had broken into the house prying open the door with a lever without informing her of the action.

The cops broke into the house with the help of a man called Maveli Hilari who is a neighbour on October 31 at 6.30 am.

Seena and her daughter Nilav moved to Delhi after Britto, who was a nominated lawmaker to Kerala Assembly, died in 2019.

The house was rented out to a tenant named Jishnu a month ago. "Hilari told the people claiming to be cops that something mysterious was going on in the house and that someone was hiding there. He offered them help to find out if the house was open. This Hilari had behaved indecently with me earlier which I had questioned. I had told him that a police complaint would be filed if he troubled me further and because of that he had hostility towards me. Hilari, while the 'cops' were there, had openly said that an accused in a criminal case in Njarakkal was hiding at the house and that he had seen that person," TNM quoted the complaint as saying.

Seena reportedly alleged that the cops had not followed any procedures, adding that they should have informed her of their action, and called the caretaker of the house Subha who lives in the neighbourhood.

The tenant Jishnu was not there at the time. When the police called him up, he reportedly said he would arrive there soon. But the police already had broken open the door, according to the report.

Meanwhile, Rajan K Aramana, Circle Inspector Njarakkal police station told TNM that they had ended up at the former MLA's house over a tip-off from a gang member staying in the house.

The officer added that the police had no plans to search the house but still had to produce before the court the member of a dangerous gang that had small arms with them.

The police carried out the search in the presence and permission of caretaker Subha and Maveli Hilari became a witness, the officer reportedly said.