By Express News Service

KOCHI: Putting the police in a tight spot, Vineesh, son of the deceased K M Vasudevan in Varapuzha, has revealed Sreejith, who died on Monday allegedly due to police torture, was not involved in the attack on their house. Sreejith was among the 10 persons who were taken into custody by the police following the suicide of Vasudevan on Friday after a 14-member gang barged into their house and attacked the family.

“Sreejith who died allegedly following custodial torture was not involved in the attack. Another youth named Sreejith, who also hails from Devaswompadam, was among the assailants. The Sreejith who died was a friend of mine. I have not given a statement that he was involved in the attack,” Vineesh told reporters on Tuesday.

However, the police said Vineesh had given a statement that Sreejith and his brother were part of the gang that attacked their house. As per his statement, a 14-member gang had barged into their house and he could identify six among them.

POLICEMEN SUSPENDED

Meanwhile, three policemen were suspended, pending inquiry in the wake of allegations on the death of Sreejith being due to third-degree torture by the police. However, the SI who led the investigation was spared. The suspended officers are Jithin Raj, Santosh Kumar and Sumesh who are attached to the Kalamassery AR camp. They have been suspended on account of official misconduct, said the police.

Protest demanding action

BJP workers staged a protest on the National Highway in Varapuzha with Sreejith’s body on Tuesday. The body was handed over to relatives after conducting a postmortem at Alappuzha Medical College Hospital. Hundreds of activists, including women, took part in the protest demanding action against the police officers responsible for the death.