Kerala HC acquits all accused in Udayakumar custodial death case

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 27 (IANS) The Kerala High Court on Wednesday acquitted all accused police officers in the sensational Udayakumar custodial death case, citing serious "lapses" in the CBI investigation.

The Court set aside the death sentence awarded earlier by the CBI Special Court to the first accused, K. Jithakumar.

The second accused, S. V. Sreekumar, had also been given the death penalty in 2018, but he died in 2020 due to cancer.

Charges of murder, torture, and conspiracy had earlier led to their conviction.

The High Court also acquitted former SPs E. K. Sabu and T. K. Haridas, along with then Sub Inspector T. Ajithkumar, who had been sentenced to three years' imprisonment for "destroying evidence and fabricating a false case" against Udayakumar.

Udayakumar, a scrap worker, was taken into custody along with his friend Suresh Kumar from Sreekanteswaram Park located in the heart of the state capital city on September 27, 2005.

He died the same night at the Fort Police Station after "brutal torture".

According to officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation, which probed the case, the constables made Udayakumar lie spread-eagled on his back on a wooden bench and beat his soles with a cane stick.

Subsequently, the officers rolled down a heavy, hollow iron pipe on Udayakumar's thighs as part of third-degree torture measures.

A post-mortem examination conducted in the presence of the RDO revealed 22 serious injuries on his body caused by rolling and beating with iron pipes.

The prosecution had alleged that the torture was inflicted to falsely implicate Udayakumar in a theft case involving Rs 4,000 found in his possession.

The case, which shocked Kerala, saw several key witnesses, including Udayakumar's friend Suresh Kumar, turn hostile during the trial.

Nearly two decades after the incident, the High Court has now acquitted all the accused, overturning the landmark verdict of the CBI Special Court.

--IANS

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