The State police suspect that an unholy business nexus between local leaders of the CPI(M) and law enforcers had resulted in the brutal custodial interrogation of financial fraud case suspect Rajkumar, 49.
He died of an infection caused due to severe physical trauma at a hospital in Idukki last week, according to officials privy to the preliminary autopsy report.
Govt. on defensive
The government has found itself on the back foot as the bankrupt businessman’s death in legal custody snowballed into a major political controversy. The incident has cast the State police in poor light and raised serious questions about their human rights record.
Investigators say there are ‘several gaps’ in the narrative of the Nedukandam police regarding Rajumar's death.
For one, the police could not account for the several injuries, including fractured ribs, forensic doctors had counted on the body.
The local police claimed that he had sustained the injuries in a fall when he attempted to evade arrest at 9 p.m. on June 15.
Relatives’ charge
However, Rajkumar’s relatives have told investigators that the police had seized him near the Carmel High School at Puliyanmala three days earlier at 3.30 p.m. on June 12. At the time, a local CPI(M) man was present at the spot.
The family had no clue about his whereabouts till the police produced him in a weakened state in court on June 16. His relatives told the investigators that Rajkumar had transactions with the CPI(M)-run Pattom Colony Cooperative Bank.
They alleged that the police tortured him to retrieve the money some local politicians had invested in his firm. Rajkumar, who owned Haritha Finance, had opened business promising loans up to ₹1 lakh on a ₹1,000 deposit. His firm, which initially did well, ran into debt later.
