Kochi: State Government has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the relatives of Sreejeev of Prassala who died in police custody. State Police Complaints Authority had asked the state to compensate the victim after finding that the victim died due to the torture while in police custody. This is the first time that a state government is granting this huge a compensation in an order passed by Police Complaints Authority. Justice Narayana Kurup, who headed the commission back in May 2016, had asked state to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case and bring the culprits to book.
The government also asked Director General of Police to take urgent steps to formulate the SIT. In a Government Order passed in September 3, Additional Chief Secretary Nalini Netto granted the compensation of '10 lakh to Sreejith of Neyyatinkara, Thiruvannathapuram. Sreejeev died in the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital on May 21, 2014, where he was admitted after being taken into custody by the Parassala Police in a case related to mobile phone theft.
The SPCA found former Parassala CI Gopakumar and ASI Philipose guilty of misconduct involving brutal physical assault of Sreejeev while in custody, causing his death. The police officials were also found to have staged a drama later to make it appear that Sreejeev committed suicide by consuming poison. According to victim’s brother Sreejith, the police took custody of Sreejeev from the Poovar bus stand at the behest of his neighbour Varghese who apprehended that Sreejeev would elope with his daughter. ASI Philipose, who was part of the police team that arrested Sreejeev, is a relative of the girl, he argued.
