Kochi: Acquittal of 24-year-old Arjun Sajeev of DYFI in a rape and murder case in Vandiperiyar in Idukki in Kerala has exposed chinks in the police department in Kerala, media reports said.
The court freeing Arjun for prosecution’s failure to produce sufficient evidence against Arjun diluted was a clear indication of the police laxity, the reports said.
This has triggered widespread protest not only among the kin of the victim but also among the public political parties including the CPI which is a key ally of the Left government led by Pinarayi Vijayan.
From the very beginning there were attempts to derail the investigation with the SHO of Vandiperiyar showing damn regards to prompt investigation.
Ironically, SHO T D Sunil Kumar reached the scene of the crime many hours later giving suspicion to his alleged role in covering up the case.
Initially, police were trying to establish that the girl had died in a freak incident in which her garment formed a noose and tightened around her neck.
Police also claimed that the parents were not in favour of subjecting their daughter to a postmortem.
However, the duty doctor at the health centre in Vandiperiyar would not let the case go the cops way. After repeated inspection, the doctor sought a postmortem which proved that the girl was raped and murdered.
As the first chargesheet was full of flaws, the district police chief R Karuppuswamy sought a revised one from the investigation team. The revised chargesheet was submitted on September 21, 2021. During the course of trial the judge was transferred, the reports said.
The SHO Sunil Kumar was in the list of cops recommended for suspension for committing lapses in a case related to rape of a Rajasthan native in Kumily in Idukki. But he managed to escape due to the alleged intervention of the police officers association in May this year.
However, Peermedu DySP J Kuriakose and Kumily SHO P D Anoopmon were suspended in the case.
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