THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CBI has officially taken over the probe into the circumstances of Sreejeev's death in police custody in Parassala in 2014 after over a two-year-long battle by his brother Sreejith. However, Sreejith said that his 770-day strike will continue until the actual probe starts. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's private secretary M.V. Jayarajan handed over a copy of the CBI notification to Sreejith in front of the secretariat here on Friday. Sreejith who was not satisfied said that he wanted the probe to begin and would not end the strike just by seeing the papers.
"The government could have acted earlier. This came very late. Let them start the probe," he said. His mother Ramani Sreedharan said that Sreejith's demands won't be fulfilled unless the High Court lifted the stay on a department-level action against the police officers who were blamed for custodial torture. Sreejith's one-man protest had become a sensation on the social media as the footages of him lying in front of the secretariat in heavy rain became viral.
Citizens rallied behind him mounting pressure on the government to ensure a CBI probe into the case. Police versions and subsequent inquiries revealed that Sreejeev had consumed pesticide in custody after being arrested for a mobile phone theft by the Parassala police. However, the State Police Complaint Authority has rubbished this claim and observed that this was a case of custodial torture. The SPCA raised doubts that he was fed poison in custody. Since policemen were the accused, a probe was sought from the central agencies.
