Kerala: 3 cops arrested for custodial death

KOCHI: The special investigation team probing the custodial death of Sreejith S R in Varapuzha has recorded the arrest of three police officers who took him into custody from his home on April 6.
The officers -- civil police officers Jithin Raj, Santosh Kumar and Sumesh attached to Kalamassery AR camp -- were part of the Rural Tiger Force under Ernakulam Rural SP A V George.The RTF was dismantled after these officers were suspended from service.
Varapuzha police had arrested Sreejith (26) on charges of attacking the house of Vasudevan who committed suicide. Residents and Sreejith's family members had alleged that the officers had beaten him while taking him into custody.
SIT head S Sreejith said the arrest was based on credible evidence. "Everyone responsible for the death will be arrested. It is too early to say if other officers were involved. The arrested policemen were not presented before public as an identification parade is pending," he said.
Police officers, meanwhile, confirmed that the arrest of the deceased was an instance of mistaken identity. "We could confirm that Sreejith was not present at the house of Vasudevan when it was attacked. He was arrested based on a wrong information given by a relative of Vasudeven," one of them said.
Read this story in Malayalam