Kochi: Tension prevailed in Varappuzha area during the dawn-to-dusk hartal called by the BJP on Tuesday to protest the alleged death of a youth in police custody.
Sreejith, who was taken into custody in connection with the death of a person last week, died in a private hospital on Monday evening. His relatives alleged that he died due to torture.
On Tuesday, scores of BJP workers blocked the Ernakulam-Guruvayur highway throwing traffic out of gear.
The BJP workers said they would continue their agitation till Sreejith's family gets justice.
Visuals aired by Malayalam television channels showed BJP workers allegedly stopping vehicles. The BJP claimed that Sreejith was a party worker.
During the protest, the party workers allegedly manhandled a person who approached them seeking a safe passage for his vehicle carrying his child to hospital.
Local leaders of the BJP, however, rejected allegations of violence during the protest.
Congress workers also took out a march to Varappuzha police station, protesting the incident. North Paravur MLA V D Satheesan inaugurated the march.
The police have rejected the allegation of torture, saying Sreejith was suspected to have suffered injuries during a clash allegedly before he was taken into custody.
SIT formed
Meanwhile, Kerala police chief Loknath Behera said a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe the incidents that led to Sreejith's death.
Stepping up its stand against police, acting chairman of the Kerala State Human Rights Commission, P Mohana Das, said the policemen involved in the incident should be removed from service.
Mohana Das had visited Sreejith on Monday, who had been put on ventilator after an emergency surgery.
A commission release, quoting hospital authorities, had said Sreejith suffered 'grievous internal wounds in his stomach' and was brought to Aster Medicity hospital.
'Wife witnessed torture'
Sreejith's wife had on Monday informed the commission that she was witness to the 'torture' after policemen in civvies took him into custody from their residence at Varappuzha.
Some people, including Sreejith, were taken into custody over the suicide of a 55-year old man, Vasudev, after a group of miscreants attacked his house on Friday.
Meanwhile, a medical report from the hospital, said Sreejith was admitted through the emergency department with history of blunt abdominal injury.
He was in septicaemic shock and was resuscitated in the emergency department and was taken up for emergency surgery.
During the next two days in the ICU, the patient progressively deteriorated and was on very high dose of drugs to support his blood pressures.
"Around 5.30 pm on Monday evening he had a cardiac arrest... The team tried to revive him for almost one hour and then gave up," it said.
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