Pressure is mounting on Kerala’s CPI(M) Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to relinquish the Home portfolio he is holding in the context of the increasing allegations about police atrocities, lapses on the part of the force in the investigation of serious cases and its failure to keep the law and order system intact.
The Congress-led Opposition UDF has already launched a campaign asking Pinarayi to vacate the charge of Home Ministry particularly following the alleged bid of police, the CPI(M) and the lDF Government it heads to protect senior police officials allegedly involved in the recent custodial murder of a youth at Varappuzha near Kochi.
While ending his 24-hour protest fast at Marine Drive in Kochi demanding a CBI probe into the murder of Sreejith (26), Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala of the Congress on Tuesday vowed to intensify the agitation to force Pinarayi to relinquish the Home Portfolio as he had already failed in controlling the police and ensuring rule of law in the State.
In an unusual move, the State Human Rights Commission called for an independent investigation by a Central agency into the murder of Sreejith in police custody. Commission’s acting chairman P Mohandas came down heavily on the Government for transferring Superintendent of Police (SP) AV George, accused of involvement in the crime, to a plum post. On Tuesday, Akhila, 24-year-old widow of Sreejith, filed a petition in the Kerala High Court seeking orders for CBI probe into her husband’s murder. Stating that the family was unhappy with the present police probe, she said George and the police officials who were present at the police station while Sreejith was being tortured in custody had not been named as accused.
Sreejith, who was taken into custody at April 6 midnight by three officials of the now-disbanded Rural Tiger Force under then Aluva (Rural) SP AV George from his house in connection with the suicide of a neighbour, died at a Kochi hospital on April 9 due to serious injuries in the intestine inflicted allegedly by the RTF men and other officials at the Varappuzha Police Station.
Four police officials including a Sub-Inspector had been arrested and six officials have been suspended from service over the incident. However, instead of booking him, George who is accused of sending his subordinates to take Sreejith into custody allegedly illegally was transferred to a plum post. A special police team is probing the case presently. The situation became all the more complex for Pinarayi on Monday with the relatives of liga Skromane (33), a latvian woman whose decomposed body was recovered from a marsh near Kovalam in Thiruvananthapuram last Friday, alleging that he had refused to meet them and that State police chief loknath Behera had shouted at them and threatened them.
A totally cornered Pinarayi, who was busy in Hyderabad the whole last week with the 22nd congress of the CPI(M), on Tuesday tried to defend himself by saying that the custodial death of Sreejith was an extremely unfortunate incident and claiming that he had already warned the police against the use of third degree torture methods on detainees.
However, he chose to launch a direct attack against the SHRC chief for calling for a CBI probe into the custodial murder, by saying a person holding that post should not make political statements. “He should be doing his job. He should remember that he is taking decisions in that capacity and (his) former political positions should not influence those decisions,” he said.
He also justified himself against the charge leveled by liga’s relatives by stating that they had never sought a meeting with him. “What is the problem if they wanted to meet meIJ They could have met in the Assembly or in my Secretariat office. They have never tried to meet me. Even then, some people are alleging that I refused to meet them. There is no truth in this,” he claimed.
However, observers feel that the situation could get tougher for Pinarayi if he does not take some “perceptible actions” to control the police and make them ensure that there is no deterioration in the law and order situation, some clear signs of which were seen in the incidents of vandalism and looting seen in some places in Malabar during an undeclared hartal over Kathua on April 16. “As per rough estimates, a minimum of 20 political murders and 16 custodial deaths have occurred in Kerala since Pinarayi became Chief Minister holding the charge of Home less than two years ago. Atrocities against Dalits are on the rise and complaints against the police have gone up. He has no option left but to act,” said a senior journalist of a pro-left newspaper.