Kevin murder case: Family protests 'govt decision' to reinstate cop

The family of an alleged honour killing victim on Wednesday protested against the government's reported decision to reinstate a police officer, who was suspended for "lapses" after the Dalit Christian man's death.

The victim's father, Joseph, said the family would petition Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Ramesh Chennithala and the State Human Rights Commission against the decision to reinstate M S Shibu, the former station house officer at Gandhi Nagar Police station in Kottayam.

" Kevin P Joseph lost his life because of laxity on part of this particular officer. Now, a decision has been taken to reinstate him. That too on the day we observed Kevin's first death anniversary," Joseph told reporters here.

The family had alleged that they filed a complaint after Kevin was abducted but the police did not take any action on it, leading to his death.

Meanwhile, Chennithala told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram that the decision to reinstate the "erring" official cannot be accepted.

Responding to a query on the matter, state police chief Loknath Behera said he was not aware of the development and had came to know about the officer's reinstatement only through media reports.

"I will speak to you after talking to the Kottayam superintendent of police," he told reporters in Thrissur.

Kevin P Joseph was abducted on May 27, 2018 by a gang allegedly hired by his wife's family and his body was found in a river in Kollam district a day later.

During the ongoing trial in the case in the District Additional Sessions Court, Kevin's wife submitted that it was a case of honour killing as he was abducted and killed by her relatives.

She also told the court that her father had objected to her relationship as he belonged to a lower caste. She had alleged that 23-year-old Kevin was abducted and killed by her relatives as they thought that their marriage would dishonour of their family.