Kerala: CBI to investigate Sreejiv’s alleged custodial death in 2014
His brother Sreejith, who has been protesting for nearly 800 days, said that he will not call off his agitation yet.
The Central Bureau of Investigation will take over the investigation into the death of 25-year-old Puthenveettil Sreejiv, who had allegedly died while in the custody of the Kerala Police in 2014. His brother Sreejith has been protesting for nearly 800 days outside the state secretariat demanding that those responsible for Sreejiv’s death must be punished.
On Friday, the Central Bureau of Investigation issued a notification stating that the agency will take over the case. Communist Party of India (Marxist) leaders MV Jayarajan and V Sivankutty handed over the notification to Sreejith and his mother at the protest venue in the morning, local daily Manorama reported.
Sreejith, a former district-level bodybuilder, said that he would not end his protest till the investigation actually begins. The CBI had turned down a similar request by the state government in July as “it was not an exceptional case that warranted the central agency’s investigation”.
Sreejith’s protest has gained momentum over the last few weeks with hundreds of people marching on the streets of Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram in solidarity with him. The protest has also had many supporters on social media and from actors and politicians across parties.
The case
Sreejiv died on May 21, 2014, in a Thiruvananthapuram hospital, two days after he was taken into custody on charges of theft. Sreejith said that the police took Sreejiv to the police station the day before a woman he was believed to be in a relationship with was getting married. Sreejith said that this was done at the behest of the woman’s relative, who was a policeman.
The police claimed that Sreejiv committed suicide while being taken into custody by consuming poison that he had concealed in his underwear. But the State Police Complaints Authority, which inquired into the death following Sreejith’s complaint, confirmed that Sreejiv had died due to police torture while in custody, and that officials had fabricated evidence to cover up the murder. However, this order was stayed by the Kerala High Court.