Kevin death: Court slams officer for lapses

KOTTAYAM: The judicial first class magistrate court in Ettumanur here on Monday slammed Gandhinagar subinspector M S Shibu for dereliction of duty in the Kevin murder case. Judicial magistrate Santhosh Das observed that the officer had received a written complaint on May 25 from Chacko John regarding the missing of his daughter and he should have immediately registered an FIR and taken steps to locate the girl.
Once the girl was located, he should have produced the girl before the magistrate for orders. Instead of following the procedure established by law, the officer procured the presence of the girl through Kevin and Aneesh and hectic unauthorized discussions were held at the station in the presence of the petitioner and his family members, and the officer even persuaded the girl to desert Kevin.
Had the officer taken prompt steps in accordance with the law, the picture would have been different. This alarming dereliction of duty on the part of the officer is one falling under section 166 IPC, the court observed. The court desisted from any action against the officer as the APP informed the court that a department-level inquiry is progressing against the officer.
The court also hoped that the inquiry officer would also look into the aspects which the court has observed in this regard. SI Shibu and grade ASI Sunnymon were earlier suspended for failing to discharge duties, pending probe.