The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the death of S.R. Sreejith under custody of the Varapuzha police on Saturday arrested one more police personnel on charges of accepting bribe from the victim’s family.
The arrested person was identified as Pradeep Kumar, a former driver of the North Paravur Circle Inspector. The accused, currently under suspension, allegedly demanded ₹25,000 from the family of Sreejith on April 7, by promising to facilitate the release of the youth, who had been suffering from sever abdominal pain.
According to the SIT, the accused had accepted ₹15,000 from the family through a middleman, a relative of the accused from North Paravur, a day after the youth was taken into custody. The amount, however, was returned through the same person 21 days after the youth died at a hospital.
No clinching evidence so far
During interrogation, the accused claimed that he accepted the money on behalf of the then North Paravur CI Crispin Sam. The investigators have so far been unable to collect any evidence to establish the claim.
“Investigations so far suggested that the then Circle Inspector is no way linked to this case. The accused was just cashing in on the opportunity as he thought Sreejith would soon be released from custody,” said a top officer.
Moreover, the SIT also unearthed several instances of the accused receiving bribe from relatives of suspects in various other cases and promptly returning the cash in case of their arrest.
The accused was booked under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 116 of the Kerala Police Act. He will be produced in the Vigilance court at Muvattupuzha.