Kerala HC directs DIG to head SIT probing death of man deported from Kuwait

Kochi: High court on Monday replaced the Kochi city police commissioner with the Ernakulam range DIG to head the SIT (special investigation team) probe into the alleged lapses on the part of official authorities in connection with the tragic death of Suraj Lama, who was deported from Kuwait to Kochi and was later found dead at Kalamassery.A bench of Justices Devan Ramachandran and M B Snehalatha issued the order following a request made by the govt pleader to replace the city police commissioner with the DIG of the Ernakulam Range as head of the SIT. Allowing the request, the court further directed the SIT to furnish its report on March 4, as directed in the earlier order.Suraj Lama, a native of Bengaluru who had been working in Kuwait for several years, was hospitalised there after suffering acute toxic leukoencephalopathy caused by alcohol poisoning. He was later deported to India on Oct 5, 2025, without his family in Bengaluru being informed.After arriving in Kochi, he was reportedly seen at multiple locations before being reported missing. On Oct 10, the Thrikkakara police took him into custody without identifying him and admitted him to the Govt Medical College Hospital, Kalamassery, after which his whereabouts became unknown. A decomposed body found near the hospital on Nov 30 was later confirmed through forensic tests to be that of Lama's.Taking note of allegations of serious lapses on the part of officials, including those in the immigration department, the court had earlier directed the SIT — which had been constituted to trace Lama after he went missing upon reaching Kochi — to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances that led to his death.