Re-postmortem conducted on victim of custodial torture

A re-postmortem was conducted on Monday on a victim of alleged custodial torture as was ordered by a one-man commission of inquiry after it found lapses in the first autopsy.

The procedure which lasted three hours was held at a government hospital in Kanjirappally , sources in the district police told PTI.

A special team of doctors, including forensic surgeons, conducted the re-postmortem which was videographed and the report would be submitted after three weeks, they said.

Fortynine-year-old Rajkumar was taken into custody on June 12 in connection with a financial fraud case and he died on June 21 at Peermedu sub-jail allegedly due to custodial torture.

The case led to an uproar in the state assembly, with the opposition Congress-led UDF attacking the government. The case was also raised in the Rajya Sabha by former Union minister Alphons Kannamthanam.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who also heads the Home Department, had assured that the government would not protect any erring policeman involved in the case.

Four police personnel - sub-inspector, assistant sub-inspector and two drivers of Nedumkandam police station - had been suspended and eight others transferred in connection with the incident.

Kerala government had on July 17 decided to give a government job to Rajkumar's widow.

The state cabinet had also decided to provide a financial aid of Rs 16 lakh to the family of the deceased.