Kerala: Policemen sentenced to death for killing an inmate

In what seems to be a landmark judgement in Human Rights violations activism, a Kerala court has awarded death penalty to two policemen for a custodial death of an inmate in 2005.

“My son has got justice at last,” said 67-year old Prabhavathy, reacting to the verdict of the CBI special court yesterday awarding death sentences to two police officers in connection with her son’s custodial death in 2005.

Clad in a white sari, the frail woman, who waged a lonely battle for 13 years to bring the accused to book, was in the court room when the landmark ruling was pronounced by judge J. Nazer.

The Wire reports that the judge sentenced the two serving police officers to death a first in the state and also in the country, while handing out three years imprisonment to three other police personnel for the brutal torture and consequent death of 26-year old Udayakumar in police custody.Justice Nazar ruled the crime fell in the rarest of the rare category that deserved the death penalty. Their illegal actions had severely eroded public trust in the law enforcement and caused social harm.

Udaykumar was taken into custody by Fort police in Thiruvananthapuram on September 25, 2005 in a case of theft and allegedly tortured at the police station. He died of severe injuries and broken veins. The women officers who were present on duty on the fateful day saw officers escorting a weakened Udayakumar to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The case took several twists and turns with prime witnesses turning hostile, alleged tampering of evidence and forged documents. On a petition by Prabhavathy, the high court had directed the CBI to probe into Udayakumar’s death. “No mother should face what I have undergone. This should be a lesson to all,” she told reporters outside the CBI court. This case sparked nation wide debate on police brutalities and custodial deaths.

“I am happy that the court has delivered the sentence when the Onam festival is just round the corner. They caught my son during the Onam festivities. Before this Onam, they have been sentenced,” she said. During this fight for justice, Udayakumar’s mother had stopped going to temples, telling herself that she would offer prayers only after the accused were punished.

Also Read: Mumbai: Allegations of custodial death of teen surface, kin bereaved