Police grope in the dark over identity of ASI’s killer

The State police is groping in the dark about the identity of the culprits behind the gruesome murder of ASI Elias who was killed during the student clashes at Changanassery NSS Hindu college on Friday.

Allegations are already in the air over the conduct of the investigating officer, Kottayam DySp PB Vijayan. He is accused of having played second fiddle to the CPI(M). The BJP leadership has already accused the DySp of naming the workers of the RSS and the ABVP behind the murder and has alleged that the DySp has done this to satisfy his political masters.

State Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and the head of the State Police Ramon Sreevastava are also on the backfoot after Sangh affiliate organisations have come out in protest against the statement of the duo immediately after the murder that ABVP and RSS workers were behind the attack. BJP State president PK Krishnadas said that the Minister was trying to settle political scores and that he was becoming more of a CPI(M) leader and was acting on behalf of the SFI which was actually behind the tragic incident and was naming the innocent ABVP workers. The BJP leaders have already demand investigation into the whole issue by the Central investigating agency as any inquiry under the local police headed by DGP Ramon Sreevastava would be a farce. The BJP has also accused the Home Minister of scuttling the investigation process by camping in Changanassery and making false statements, totally unbecoming of a senior political leader.

The local police is also in the defensive on the cruel lock up thrashings of accused with two of the accused Biju and Jyothish admitted to the Kottayam Medical College after complaining serious health problems. The State human rights commission has suo moto taken a case against the police in the issue and the department has already suspended two policemen, Ajitkumar and Thomas of Kerala Armed Forces battalion, for having taken the law into their hands.

The investigating officer Kottayam DySp PB Vijayan has been relieved of the duty as a fear stricken Government and CPI(M) leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan immediately went on the defensive after the allegations from the RSS and BJP leaders of having scuttling the probe.

Interestingly, the police have not found any evidence of the accused having dealt the fatal blow on the ASI and this has also resulted in treating the police investigation as a farce. There are also charges that the police are trying to create fear by conducting late night raids in the houses of the people affiliated to RSS and its feeder organisations and that this is also boomeranging the beleagured Minister who is accused of having trying to increase his image amongst the CPI(M) cadre in his home turf Thalassery where he was booed and jeered by his own party men owing to the police action against them to protect his own identity in a sensitive case.

UDF leader and former Minister KM Mani has called for a CBI investigation into the case as the local police have already created doubts in the minds of the people by acting in a partisan manner. He also said that the police have failed to act as a proper investigating agency and was parroting the version of the CPI(M) leaders in the case without studying anything in detail.

The accused have also complained to the Press that even woman constables had tortured them while in police custody at the instance of senior police officers, including DySp Vijayan.

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