CBI says Neyyattinkara youth not killed in police custody, brother Sreejith vows to fight on

Thiruvananthapuram: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has said that Neyyattinkara native Sreejiv had committed suicide and that he was not killed while in police custody in 2014. Sreejiv’s death had become a talking point in Kerala after his brother Sreejith protested for years in front of the Secretariat, seeking action against the culprits.

Reacting to the CBI’s findings, Sreejith said that he would continue his fight for justice.

The CBI submitted the report to the court of chief judicial magistrate (CJM) on Wednesday. The CBI also recommended action against those policemen who took Sreejiv into custody.

Sreejiv died on May 19, 2014, while he was in the custody of the police at Parassala in Thiruvananthapuram. The police report said that he died after consuming poison in the lock-up. However, his relatives alleged that Sreejiv, who was in a relationship with a girl in the neighbourhood, was murdered. One of the girl’s relatives, a cop, too had colluded in this.

Sreejiv’s brother Sreejith had filed a complaint to the State Police Complaints Authority that the probe was not heading in the right direction. The complaints authority found that Sreejiv did not die due to consuming poison and that he was killed in custody. It also found former Parassala circle inspector Gopakumar, ASI Phillipose, civil police officers Prathapa Chandran and Vijayasdas were guilty.

The authority also found that sub-inspector D Bijukumar, who prepared the mahasar, had faked the documents. The accused officers then moved the High Court and got a stay against the authority's recommendation to take action against them.

In between, Sreejith's sit-in outside the Secretariat became a talking point across Kerala. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan handed over the case to the CBI, conceding to Sreejith’s demand.

The CBI took over the case in January 2018.

Sreejith alleged that not just the police, but even those who had to ensure that justice is implemented sided with the accused.

‘Will continue to fight’

"As even the doctors and the police were involved in the case, they fabricated documents to hide the truth. The authorities have the power to come up with records that would make murder look like suicide. The government too manipulated the records. Will continue the fight," Sreejith said.