The Crime Branch (CB) has moved the court to get custody of six officers of Viyyur Central Prison, who are in remand in connection with the custodial murder of Shemeer.
For a detailed interrogation and identification parade, they have to be in custody, according to the CB. The reason for the custodial torture and the places where he was admitted to torture have to be clarified.
The Crime Branch special team on Monday arrested six prison offices in connection with murder of Shemeer of Thiruvananthapuram, who was arrested along with his wife and two others from a car in Thrissur on September 29 with 10 kg of ganja.
Shemeer, who was sent to Ambilikkala hostel, the COVID care centre of the Jail Department, was admitted to Thrissur Medical College Hospital in an unconscious state on September 30 night. He died the next day.
According to jail officers, Shemeer, who suffered an epileptic attack at the centre, fell down and injured himself.
However, a post-mortem report revealed 40-odd injuries, including those on the head and back, on his body. His ribs and chest bones were broken. The fellow inmates in the quarantine centre reportedly gave statement that he was subjected to brutal torture at the centre.
The arrested jail officers are deputy prison officers M.S. Arun, 35, of Kalavur, and V.S. Subhash, 24, of Kollankode; assistant prison offers T.V. Vivek, 30, of Njarakkal; M.R. Ramesh, 33, of Cherayi; and Pratheesh, 32, of Kottayam; and assistant jail superintendent Athul Puthuvalvila, 24, of Thiruvanathapuram.
All the six have been charged with murder under Section 302 of IPC.
Earlier, all the six were suspended by jail DGP Rishi Raj Singh. Along with them jail superintendent Raju Abraham was also suspended for negligence of duty. The Ambilikkala COVID care cnetre was closed down following the murder.
Published - November 10, 2020 08:15 pm IST
