Probe on into death of detained man

The State Police Complaints Authority on Friday launched an inquiry into the death of a suspect who attempted to commit suicide while he was in the custody of the Thumba police earlier this week. Authority members K.P. Somarajan and P. Muralidharan visited the Thumba police station on Friday.

The authority is learned to have checked the general diary entries and taken statements from police officers in the station on how Shaji Elias, a 42-year-old resident of Poundukadavu, was summoned to the police station and the subsequent incidents, which culminated in an alleged suicide bid by him on Tuesday and his death on Thursday.

Mr. Somarajan told

The Hindu that the authority found that the person, Shaji, was brought to the police station around 5 p.m. on February 22, detained there the next day as well, and he had made the alleged suicide bid between 7.45 a.m. and 8 a.m. on February 24. It was found that the police station did not have lock-up facilities.

Details awaited

The authority would wait for the autopsy certificate and details of the treatment extended to Shaji who was under treatment at the medical college hospital here.

The inquiry, Mr. Somarajan said, was still in a preliminary stage and action would be recommended, if necessary, once it was over. “There is a prima facie case of negligence and illegal detention. It is a serious thing, because he was detained for so long,” he said, adding that Sheen Tharayil, Circle Inspector, Medical College, who is investigating the case, was present during the authority’s visit. Departmental inquiries by Manoj Abraham, IG, Thiruvananthapuram Range, and Jawahar Janardh, Assistant Commissioner, Shangumugham, are on into the incident.