Govt not scuttling Varappuzha case probe: Pinarayi Vijayan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has termed as baseless the allegations that the government was trying to scuttle the probe into the Varappuzha custodial death case with a legal advice in favour of former  Ernakulam rural SP A.V. George.

The Opposition  staged a walkout from the Assembly alleging that the government was scuttling the probe to protect  some senior CPM leaders. The Opposition also demanded that the probe should be handed over to the CBI.

"If A.V. George is implicated, the involvement of CPM leaders who instructed him to arrest the victim Sreejith would come to light. The probe was stalled after an area secretary of CPM was quizzed," Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala alleged.

Replying to a submission raised by Mr  V.D. Satheesan (Cong), the chief minister said that the investigation was progressing in the right direction and that the government was not interfering in it  at any stage. The investigation team may naturally take legal advice from the director-general of prosecution. But the final decision on who all should be arraigned would be taken by the investigating officers on the basis of evidence. If there is any lapse in the investigation,  the court would examine it, he said.

Maintaining that the Varappuzha incident  was not the first custodial death or torture in the state,  Mr Vijayan  said that unlike previous such incidents,  the LDF government had taken stern action  in the case. Several police personnel, including the rural SP (A.V. George),  were placed under suspension. Even the family of Sreejith had expressed satisfaction in the probe and hence there was no need for a CBI probe.

Mr Chennithala  said that  Sreejith's family had sought a CBI probe.   Earlier court rulings had said that it was improper that cases against police officials were probed by the police themselves. Hence the probe should be entrusted with the CBI, he said.

Mr. Satheesan said that a probe into the telephone call details of A.V. George would expose the involvement of CPM leaders in the case.

The petition seeking a CBI probe into the case would come up for hearing before the High Court on Thursday.

Though the UDF had given an adjournment notice, Speaker P.  Sreeramakrishnan denied it and allowed a submission on the issue.