Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday warned that policemen guilty of custodial torture or deaths will not remain in the police force.
“The government will not protect anyone who kills or assaults people in custody. Such people will naturally be out of service. Such criminal behaviour is unacceptable,” he said in reply to an adjournment notice given by the Opposition on the custodial death of financier Raj Kumar at Peerumade in Idukki district.
Stringent action would be taken against those responsible for the death, he said. A case has been registered and a preliminary inquiry conducted following which the police personnel responsible had been suspended and transferred .
“The government wants to make it clear that not a single person who commits excesses in custody will be protected,” he said.
The probe has to be completed in a time-bound manner, he said while rejecting the Opposition demand to suspend the proceedings to discuss the issue. The Opposition then walked out in protest.
