Thrissur: The family of Dalit youth Vinayakan,19, who committed suicide after allegedly subjected to severe mental and physical torture in Pavaratty Police Station here in July last year, has said it was left with no option other than to resort to a protest similar to that of Sreejith on the pavements in front of secretariat in Thiruvanathampuram if the government refused to hear their pleas for justice.
Vinayakan's father C.K. Krishnankutty told DC that the inquiry into the custodial torture of his son by cops in Pavaratty police station was fully botched up by former investigation officers Valappad circle inspector C.R. Santhosh and then by crime branch DySP (Palakkad) Feroz M. Shafeeque. The police officers who were accused of torturing the youth are back on duty as the investigating team favoured them, he said.
"The investigating team avoided invoking charges of abetting suicide and sections in the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in the FIR," P.K. Suresh Babu, lawyer of Vinayak's father in Lokayukta said. "The suspension of both the CPOs who are the accused in the case was revoked by the department and they have rejoined duty last month."
In November, the Lokayukta in Thiruvanathapuram had come down heavily on both the CI and DySP for their alleged attempt to save civil police offices of Pavaratty station Sreejith and Sajan who are the accused in the alleged custodial torture of the Dalit youth. The Lokayukta was so upset with the investigation that it ordered making Mr Shafeeque the fourth defense respondent in the case after two CPOs and the state government in a petition before it.
The doctors who conducted postmortem on Vinkayak's body had stated before the Lokayukta that the teenager was subjected to 'brutal manhandling' and there were attempts to tear off his hair and rapture his nipples by pressing it with an object such as pencil. They have also stated that boots were used to stamp on the feet of the victim, Mr Babu said.
Crime Branch SP P.N. Unnirajan (Ernakulam) who is at present investigating the case told DC that the statements of all the major witnesses would be re-verified as part of the investigation.
