Kerala High Court grills police on Krishnadas case diary

Kochi: The Kerala High Court has criticised the police for the mistakes in the case diary on the alleged assault on a law student by P. Krishnadas, chairman of the Nehru Group of institutions.

The police had arrested Krishnadas on a complaint filed by Shaheer Shoukath Ali, a former law student. The court criticised the police for not mentioning the non-bailable offences against Krishnadas in the arrest information notice given to his brother.  It found disparities in mentioning the proper date, page number and time of recording  the complainant's statement in the case diary.

The state admitted that there were lapses on the part of the police while registering the Lakkidi college case. It, however,  reiterated that there was sufficient material to prove the reason for the arrest of the accused.  It  argued that the computers at Krishnadas's office should be inspected and  CCTV visuals and other evidence should be seized. The police had invoked section 365 (kidnapping or abduction with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine a person) and 384 (extortion) against the accused. The  police in an affidavit informed the court that the first information was recorded by additional sub-inspector of police Njaneswaran on February 27. All the sections recorded by the ASI being bailable, no arrest was effected immediately.

There was allegation by the complainant and his parents as well as several parents of the students who had similar experience of harassment by the college authorities that the investigation was not being conducted properly and that proper sections of the offence disclosed from the FI statement were not included. The district police chief, Thrissur rural, had  called for the case file and he,  as per the order dated March 13,  entrusted the probe to it, the police said.

The court posted Krishnadas's plea as well as the one filed by Sanjith Viswanathan , suspended PRO of Nehru College of Engineering and Research Centre, Pambady, for further hearing.