The Kerala government on August 21 approved an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the allegation that Mathai, a 41-year-old farmer in Pathanamthitta district , had died in the custody of Forest Department officials on July 28.
The decision came hours before the Kerala High Court was scheduled to consider a plea by Sheeba, the wife of Mathai, for a CBI probe into the puzzling death.
Ms. Sheeba had alleged in her petition that wildlife enforcers attached to Chittar Forest Station had arrested her husband, tortured him in custody and later dumped his body into a well to make the “murder” seem like an accident.
Mathai was found dead in a well near his residence at Kudappana. Hours before his death, local forest officials had allegedly summoned him to the Chittar station for questioning purportedly in connection with the vandalisation of a few surveillance cameras they had placed in the forested locality.
Emotional issue
Mathai’s death in baffling circumstances had caused the local people to rise in protest against local Forest and police officials. It soon became an emotional issue that strongly resonated among other members of the large rural farming community when Ms. Sheeba openly swore that she would not bury her husband until the family got justice from the police.
The preliminary post-mortem examination pointed to death by drowning. The State police had mimicked Mathai’s fall with a mannequin matching his size and body weight in a bid to find out whether it was a homicidal or accidental death. The result of the dummy test was reportedly inconclusive.
Mathai’s family had rejected the Forest Department’s version that wildlife enforcers had let him off after questioning and knew nothing about his later whereabouts or actions. Subsequently, fearing local ire, the Forest Department transferred six wildlife enforcers from Chittar to other divisions.
Campaign for justice
P. C. George, MLA, leader of Kerala Janapaksham and ally of the National Democratic Alliance in Kerala, had spearheaded the “justice for Mathai” campaign.
Mr. George told The Hindu that the police had ignored overwhelming evidence and attempted to save the forest officials. He alleged Mathai’s body was in a private morgue for the past 23 days. The government had ignored the family’s grief cruelly.
The High Court had made sharp observations against the State government when it admitted Ms. Sheeba’s plea for a CBI inquiry. “The government had ordered the CBI probe at the last minute to save its face in the HC,” Mr. George said.
