CBI to probe Kerala custodial death case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday agreed to probe the alleged death of Kerala man Puthenveetil Sreejeev in police custody.

The Kerala government has been asking for a CBI probe into the matter, a demand which was accepted by the Centre yesterday.

Sreejeev's brother, Sreejith, has been protesting to seek justice for the last 767 days outside the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram.

"Will continue my protest till the CBI probe begins, will also consult legal experts," Sreejith said.

The letter in this regard was sent on January 13 by the state chief secretary asking the CBI to re-examine its earlier decision not to take up the case.

The state government had also in July last year written to the Centre for a CBI investigation as some police personnel were accused in the case registered in Parassala police station.

However, the plea was rejected by CBI stating they had an overload of cases and this particular incident did not come under the rarest of rare cases, the release stated.

Sreejeev, died at a Thiruvananthapuram hospital on March 21, 2014, allegedly due to police torture. He was taken into custody in an alleged case of theft.