The family of Sreejith (26), who was murdered in police custody at Varappuzha near Kochi over a month ago, on Saturday alleged that the police had arrested him as a result of a conspiracy hatched by local CPI(M) functionaries even as the special investigation team of the Kerala Police looking into the case has extended its probe to the party’s local leadership.
The special investigation team of the police’s Crime Branch has recorded the statement of MK Babu, CPI(M)’s Alangad area secretary who is facing the charge of preparing the list of accused for the police in the case in which Sreejith was arrested and had tried to influence a top police official who was suspended from service the other day.
Babu is facing the allegation that he had talked to former Superintendent of Police (Rural, Ernakulam) AV George who was suspended from service on Friday in connection with the custodial murder case, over the phone six times in connection with the case that had led to Sreejith’s murder. As per reports, the SIT has collected Babu’s phone details.
However, Babu rejected the charges against him and his party. Terming as baseless the allegation that he had interfered in the list of accused, he said the family of Sreejith was being misled by some political forces. He admitted that he had called the police official but he had done that only to inform him about the incident related to the case in which Sreejith was arrested.
Syamala, mother of Sreejith (26) who was killed in police custody early last month, alleged on Saturday that he was named as an accused in the case of attack on the house of a neighbor, Vasudevan of Devaswompadam, Varappuzha on the basis of which he was arrested. Vasudevan had committed suicide after the attack on his house.
“The conspiracy that led to my son’s arrest was hatched at Devaswompadam itself. We have information that the list of accused (in which Sreejith’s name figured) was prepared at the house of local CPI(M) leader Priya Bharathan. We are told that it was (CPI(M)’s branch secretary) Parameswaran who had prepared the list,” Syamala said.
Priya Bharathan, CPI(M)’s branch committee member and former Panchayat member, admitted that a meeting of the party’s local leadership had indeed been held at her house on the night that followed the attack on Vasudevan’s house and his suicide for which Sreejith was arrested. However, she said that the RSS-BJP was behind Syamala’s allegations.
“The party had held a meeting in my house. But I don’t know what all things were discussed in it as I was at Vasudevan’s house at that time,” Priya said.
“Many leaders like area committee member VP Denny and branch secretary Parameswaran (who according had allegedly given statement against Sreejith), had taken part in the meeting,” she added.
Parameswaran himself had once said that he had not given any statement to the police against Sreejith but later he withdrew that admission.
After this, his son had said that Parameswaran was not a witness to the attack on Vasudevan’s house and his statement to the police was made under pressure from Denny, who has rejected the charge.
The special investigation team headed by Inspector General of Police S Sreejith had found that Sreejith was not among the group that had attacked Vasudevan’s house and that he was arrested by mistake.
Three youths, said to be the actual culprits in the house attack case, had surrendered before the police last week.
Sreejith, father of a three-year-old girl, was taken into custody by three officials from the now-disbanded Rural Tiger Force (RTF) constituted by AV George while he was asleep in his house at Devaswompadam at midnight on April 6. He died at a Kochi hospital on April 9 as a result of alleged brutal torture by the police in custody.
The SIT has already arrested five police officials – the three RTF men, Sub-Inspector of Police GS Deepak of Varappuzha station and Circle Inspector Crispin Sam of Paravur — in the case of Sreejith’s custodial murder. However, murder charge had not been slapped on Sam and he has been granted bail.
George, whom the Government had transferred to the Police Academy after the case broke out, was suspended from service pending inquiry on Friday on the basis of a recommendation from the SIT headed by Inspector General of Police S Sreejith.
The SIT, which had questioned him twice, had received statements on George’s involvement in the case, from the other officials.
Sreejith’s widow Akhila, who has approached the High Court seeking orders for a CBI probe into the murder of her husband, said, “Sreejith was taken away from the house at midnight by three men under George’s command. We suspect that top men like him could be spared in the chargesheet. That is why we are demanding a CBI investigation.”