Kerala’s Marxist Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday told the State Assembly that there was no need of a CBI probe into the custodial murder of a youth, Sreejith, at Varappuzha near Kochi over two months ago even as the victim’s family reportedly rejected his claim that they were satisfied with the ongoing investigation by the State police while the Congress-led UDF Opposition directly accused the CPI(M) of involvement in the incident.
“This is not the first case of custodial death in Kerala but this Government took prompt action by arresting the accused immediately unlike in the case of earlier incidents,” Pinarayi said. “There is no need to bring in the CBI as the Opposition demands as the ongoing probe by the special investigation team (of the State police) is progressing well,” he claimed.
The Assembly also witnessed a verbal duel between Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala and Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan over the latter’s refusal to allow an adjournment motion on the legal advice the SIT had got that Superintendent of Police AV George, whose subordinate officers had arrested Sreejith from his house, could not be made an accused in the case.
The Speaker said the rules did not allow discussion on an adjournment motion over legal advices but the matter could be raised as a submission. The Opposition leader, who wanted to know the rule by which such a debate could not be allowed, asked how a submission could be allowed if that was the case but the Speaker did not have a clear answer for that.
“We can understand the helplessness of the Speaker. You cannot and need not specify the rule but you may just tell us it is the Chair’s decision. The situation in Kerala has come to such a pass that anybody can be beaten to death in custody if the Government can give Rs 10 lakh and a job to the victim’s relatives and suitable legal advices can be arranged,” Chennithala said.
Chennithala’s references were to the awarding of Rs 10 lakh to Sreejith’s family and a job to his widow Akhila as compensation and the legal advice the SIT had got from the Director General of Prosecutions that George could not be made an accused in the case. The Government was protecting George in order to conceal the CPI(M)’s role, the Opposition alleged.