TRIVANDRUM: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will probe into the death of a young man in police custody in Kerala more than three years back.

The decision comes after a 766-day sit-in and fasting by RS Sreejith, 30, the elder brother of the “victim” Sreejeev, before the State Secretariat here.

Dr Jitendra Singh, the minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office, who met home minister Rajnath Singh along with Dr Shashi Tharoor MP on Monday, confirmed this on Twitter.

The police allegedly took the boy into custody on the eve of the marriage of an officer’s relative with whom he was in love, and two days later he died in a hospital.

The autopsy found a girl’s name tattooed on his right arm. Two years later, the State Police Complaints Authority found officers guilty of subjecting him to third-degree torture leading to his death.

The SPCA headed by K Narayana Kurup, a former High Court judge, had also asked the officers to pay a compensation of one million rupees to Sreejith and his mother.

The officers moved the High Court and obtained a stay order as the state government allegedly went soft on prosecution and instead promoted them. The government also paid the compensation from the exchequer.

Outraged at the turn of events and the insensitive state government, hundreds of youngsters active on the social media started thronging the venue last week putting the government in a tight spot.

There were also reports that the police were planning to remove him forcibly as the crowds started swelling by the day at the seat of power. “Had a very constructive meeting with @drjitendrasingh on the imperative need for a CBI inquiry into the custodial death of Sreejith’s brother,” Dr Tharoor later tweeted.

“We then met together with @rajnathsingh who agreed that custodial deaths should always be inquired into. Expecting official OK today.” Following this, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan also called him for talks, but he received no assurance on the action against the officers. He offered him to get the high court stay order vacated.