Oppn walks out after govt says no to judicial probe

Thiruvananthapuram: Opposition members walked out of the assembly on Monday after the state government refused to order a judicial inquiry into the recent alleged custodial torture and death of Rajkumar (49) at Nedumkandam in Idukki.
Though chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s assured that erring policemen would face action, it failed to broker peace with the opposition. They said the chief minister failed to walk his talk on such occasions in the past as well.
“If anybody is proven guilty, stern action will be taken against them. Not only will they be booked, but also given exemplary punishment. Government will ensure that such people will no longer be there in the state police service,” Vijayan told the state assembly.
The chief minister was pleading guilty by admitting in the assembly that Rajkumar was a victim of custodial torture, said Congress MLA, V D Satheesan, seeking the leave of the House to move an adjournment motion for discussing the case in detail. But an investigation by police, he said, would hardly take an independent course. Inferring that the response of power minister M M Mani on the crime was unbecoming of his position, Satheesan alleged that Idukki SP was a henchman of the minister.
Vijayan, with an unusual composure, said the government was waiting for the preliminary probe to conclude. He read out the police report, which said, “the health condition of Rajkumar, when admitted to jail was precarious. He was limping and was wholly dependent on others even for consuming food… He sustained injuries while trying to decamp from police custody.”
“Why a man in such debilitated condition was lodged in jail and not in hospital is a matter of grave concern and is to be probed. A special team has been constituted to probe into the incident,” Vijayan added.
Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said the police probe against police officers will turn out to be farce. “Once the upheaval settles down, the probe would falter. Only a judicial investigation can bring out the truth,” he said.
Police, he said, have already started setting evidence to save themselves and build up a narrative, according to which Rajkumar suffered injuries not at the hands of police, but that of local people.