Kochi: Kerala High Court on Friday suggested departmental action against a police officer who concluded that the death of Sudarsanan of Chavara in 2007 was a case of suicide. The court also ordered a fresh probe.
The Crime Branch official in his final report had stated that the victim stabbed himself and later tried to drown himself in a small water tank. Justice B. Kemal Pasha found that there was not enough water in the tank and observed that the official was trying to save the accused from the clutches of law. Pointing out the police version, the court wondered, “can anybody having common sense believe the said version of the police?”
The court said that even the local police had taken a lenient view by framing section 304. The court found the reasoning of police illogical and ordered a reinvestigation. It was considering a plea filed by Bhasurangi, wife of Sudarsanan.
The local police initially conducted the investigation and framed section 326 (Voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons) and section 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) against the accused. Later that year, the Crime Branch took over the case and concluded that the accused only abetted the suicide.
The court said that the conclusion arrived at by the investigating officer with regard to the death was devoid of common sense. “Even the final report clearly reveals that the deceased was brutally beaten up by the accused and several ribs of the deceased were broken. The deceased was running away in order to escape from the clutches of the accused. He took shelter in a house and when he came out he was again attacked,” the judge said.
