The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday arrested five policemen and a home guard in connection with the alleged custodial death of 49-year-old Rajkumar, a remand prisoner, on June 21 last.

The agency had arrested K.A. Sabu, former sub-inspector of the Nedumkandam police station and prime accused in the case, on Monday. The five policemen arrested on Tuesday were Rejimon, Roy P. Varghese, Jithin K. George, Sajeev Antony, and Niyas. James K.M. is the home guard arrested along with the five police officers.

Further probe

The accused were granted interim bail by the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court here. It had granted six-day custody of Sabu on Monday. The CBI had pointed out that further interrogation was required to ascertain whether senior officers had any role in the custodial torture.

Rajkumar, a private financier from Kolahalamedu, was taken into custody on charges of financial fraud on June 12 and was produced in court only on June 16. He had allegedly accepted deposits from self-help groups on the promise of providing them loans. However, complaints were filed at the Nedumkandam police station that he had failed to keep his word.

Rajkumar was allegedly subjected to severe torture at the Nedumkandam police station from June 12 to June 15, leading to his death on June 21. A postmortem examination was conducted at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kottayam, and the wounds in the body were noted in the report.