The Alappuzha Chief Judicial Magistrate Court here on Saturday acquitted Inspector-General of Police Tomin J. Thachankary and seven other police officers of all charges against them in a custodial torture case.
The case was in connection with an incident that occurred in 1991 when Mr. Thachankary was the Assistant Superintendent of Police in Alappuzha. A complaint filed by N. Prakashan of Punnapra accused Mr. Thachankary and the other police officers of implicating him in a murder case and torturing him in custody.
Mr. Prakashan had alleged that Mr. Thachankary altered a suicide case into that of murder and accused him of being the culprit, after which he took Mr. Prakashan into custody and allegedly tortured him to confess of the crime.
Mr. Prakashan was released after a public action council intervened. A consequent Crime Branch inquiry found that the murder case was false and that he was innocent of the crimes.
Mr. Prakashan then lodged a complaint against Mr. Thachankary and trial had begun in October. However, Mr. Prakashan slowly began to backtrack from the case, stating that he was not interested in taking the issue forward and even appealed before the court to acquit the accused.
But the court said that since the trial had begun, the procedures would have to be completed.
Mr. Prakashan, later, stated in the court that he did not remember the exact chronicle of events and changed his earlier statements, following which Chief Judicial Magistrate P. Ragini on Saturday acquitted Mr. Thachankary and others.
The other officers included the then Ambalappuzha Circle Inspector Shaik Anwaruddin, the then Punnapra Sub Inspector Peter Babu, and constables Haridas, Pookoya, Keshavankutty, Jaffer, and Abubacker.
Mr. Thachankary, reacting to the developments, said the media had targeted him and that he was a much relieved person now that justice was done to him.
