A police team probing the death of Gopinatha Pillai, a petitioner in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case, in a road accident has identified the truck that allegedly rear-ended the car in which Pillai and his brother were travelling.
The police said there was nothing suspicious in the accident. “The vehicle was seized based on CCTV footage. We have also recorded the arrest of truck driver Anil Kumar, 42, of Cherthala. He was later released on bail,” the police said.
Pillai, along with his younger brother Madhavan Pillai, met with the accident at Vayalar Junction on April 11. Pillai, who was injured in the accident, died two days later at a private hospital.
As per Madhavan Pillai, who escaped unhurt, the accident occurred when the lorry rear-ended their car and it sped away.
Pillai’s son Javed Ghulam Sheikh (born Pranesh Pillai), along with three others, Ishrat Jahan Raza, Amjad Ali Rana, and Zeeshan Johar, were gunned down by the Gujarat Police near Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004.
