The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested four police officials on May 4 in connection with the alleged custodial death of Thamir Jiffri at Tanur in Malappuram district of Kerala on August 1, 2023.
The four arrested officials have been identified as Jinesh, senior civil police officer (CPO) of Tanur station, Albin Augustine, CPO of Parappanangadi station, Abhimanyu, CPO of Kalpakanchery station, and Vipin, CPO of Tirurangadi station, who were all part of the District Anti Narcotics Special Action Force (DANSAF) at the time of the incident.
21 wounds on body
Thamir Jiffri (30) died in the custody of the Tanur police on August 1, 2023. He along with five others were nabbed by DANSAF from Chelari on narcotics charges on July 31, 2024 and was later brought to the Tanur police station. Jiffri collapsed and died the following day. Though the Tanur police claimed that he had collapsed after exhibiting signs of drug usage, the autopsy and chemical examination reports suggested custodial torture as he bore 21 wounds on his body.
The case was initially investigated by Kerala Crime Branch. However, Jiffri’s family approached the Kerala High Court expressing distrust in the way the investigation progressed and demanded a CBI inquiry.
The CBI had earlier registered an FIR accusing the four DANSAF members of murder. The arrests were made after detailed investigation.
