Kerala police face another torture charge

Thiruvananthapuram: The raft of allegations against police in Kerala — including the custodial death of S.R. Sreejith in Varapuzha and delays in arresting the suspect in a child abuse case — expanded on Monday with new charges of the custodial torture of a youth in Pinarayi.

The family of Unais allege he was severely assaulted while at the police station by seven policemen and a sub-inspector, and that he was admitted to hospital on February 24 with blood oozing from his mouth and through his urine.

The young man succumbed to injuries on May 2.

Relatives of Unais, who was an autorickshaw drivet, allege that he was a victim of police brutality.

Alleging police brutality to be the cause of his death, the family has petitioned the Human Rights Commission and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

The deceased was taken into custody on February 21 in Kannur district, following a complaint by his father-in-law that Unais had set fire to his father-in-law’s scooter.

One local media outlet said hospital records showed the injuries were caused by torture, and that the hospital had treated it as a medical-legal case.

When he was discharged from hospital, Unais went home and spent two months there.

He did not recover well enough to return to work after the incident and died on May 2.

The charge against police comes on the heels of an allegation that a businessman, Kankunnath Moideenkutty was not immediately arrested after a cinema owner provided visual proof of him abusing a 10-year-old girl in the cinema, while her own mother was also present in the hall with the abuser.

The incident happened on April 18, but Moideenkutty was arrested only last week, and that was after a local television channel reported the matter.

Moideenkutty, who made a fortune through his businesses in the Middle East, was called “Swarnakutty” — literally, golden boy in Malayalam — for the financial support he offered to various political and other organisations in Kerala.

It is believed that Moideenkutty did not flee abroad even after the incident because of his confidence in his contacts in high places.

Before that incident, the Varapuzha police was accused of torturing to death, S.R. Sreejith, who was taken into custody over the suicide of one of his neighbours.

It later emerged that Sreejith’s arrest may have been a case of mistaken identity since the family of the man who committed suicide had mentioned of another Sreejith to the police.