The Perumbavoor First Class Magistrate Court on Tuesday sent Ameerul Islam, accused in the murder of a Dalit law student, to police custody for 10 days. Magistrate V. Manju sent Islam in police custody till 4.30 p.m. on June 30.
In a petition, the special investigation team submitted to the court that Ameerul’s custody was required for further probe and evidence collection. It also highlighted the need to record his detailed statement regarding admission of the crime, in addition to recovering the weapons used for the crime and the clothes worn on the fateful day. The accused need to be taken to the crime scene and the places where he had been staying, including Assam, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu. It also needs to find out whether he received assistance in any form to destroy evidence.
The accused was brought to the court from the Ernakulam District Prison, Kakkanad, by 12 noon. A translator was employed for the accused, who claimed to speak only Hindi and Assamese. The court asked Ameerul whether he had anything to say, for which he requested permission to visit his native place.
Face masking
In the custody application submitted before the court, the police sought permission to produce the accused with mask. The police also sought the court’s consent to mask Ameerul’s face during investigation. The police said more identification parades needed to be conducted to prove his role beyond doubt.
“So far, the accused gave different versions regarding motive. We need to find out the actual motive and untie the sequence of events leading to the crime,” sources said. The police are now looking to complete the identification of the accused by the remaining five witnesses.
The probe team took into custody his brother Badharul Islam from Perumbavoor earlier in the day. Preliminary probe revealed that he had no role in the entire episode.
