CB to probe deaths during police check

A Crime Branch (CB) team led by Dy.SP Vijayakumaran Nair will probe the deaths of two people in a road accident that occurred allegedly during a police inspection at Kanjikuzhy, near Mararikulam, on March 11.

District Police Chief (DPC) S. Surendran handed over the probe to the crime branch after allegations that the local police were trying to sabotage the investigation.

SI suspended

Earlier on Sunday, a sub inspector with the Kuthiathodu police station was suspended after an initial probe found that the police were at fault. S. Soman was suspended based on a probe report by the DPC.

The officer was in charge of the highway patrol team between Alappuzha and Aroor. Mr. Surendran also recommended department-level action against senior civil police officer D. Suresh Babu and civil police officer T.S. Ratheesh, who were part of the team.

Vichu, 24, was killed and four members of a family were injured when two motorcycles collided after a patrol team allegedly blocked the way of one early on March 11. On Saturday last, one of the injured, Sumi, 35, died in a hospital.

Shebu, her husband, said they were returning home with their two children after attending a ritual at Kanichukulangara temple when the police put a vehicle across their motorbike, resulting in the crash.

After the accident, the Mararikulam police had registered a case against Shebu for culpable homicide. Officials said the crime branch would conduct a detailed probe and the case against the victim would be dropped, if found innocent.