Police officer pens the tale of Kerala’s ‘first custodial death’

ASP brings out book on Kayamkulam Kochunni, works on two books on crime and probe

ASP A. Nasim

In his police career spanning two-and-a-half decades, A. Nasim has been part of some of the most dogged assignments — cracking murder mysteries, chasing down criminals after long pursuits, and rescuing people in distress.

But this gruelling, round-the-cock work has not stymied his passion for writing. The officer, who joining the Kerala Police as a sub-inspector in 1995, made his literary debut in 2002 with a book titled ‘Police Digest.’

On ‘101 murders’

Now an Additional Superintendent of Police in Kottayam, Mr. Nasim is fast becoming an authority on the history of crimes in Kerala. A crime historian who holds a doctoral degree in the custodial deaths in Kerala from 1956 to 2016, he has now completed a book on Kayamkulam Kochunni and has set out on another on the 101 murders that shocked Kerala, besides an Encyclopedia of Investigation — a 12-volume work.

“Kayamkulam Kochunni’s is arguably the first recorded case of custodial death in Kerala and I chanced upon the episode while researching the history of custodial deaths. I spent about three-and-a-half years on the subject, visiting the locations, interviewing people, and verifying archives to piece together the life of Kochunni, who was killed at the age of 41,” Mr. Nasim said.

Context of crime

The book on the 101 murders, which will feature cases as recent as the Koodathayi serial killings, is planned in such a way as not to sensationalise violence. The book aims at providing context to the crimes it analyses.

The Encyclopedia of Investigation, on the other hand, will detail the criminal investigation process, from the First Information Report till the filing of charge sheets, and seeks to lay down a Standard Operating Procedure for different types of cases. “This is a six-and-a-half-year project involving in-depth analysis of cases, which helps one see how and by whom our laws are enforced. Each of the 12 volumes runs into about 1,200 pages, he said.

Writing, according to Mr. Nasim, has given him the counterbalance to the stress that stems from a demanding job.