Noose tightens on ex-rural SP

Kochi: The Crime Branch probing the Varappuzha custodial death case on Wednesday questioned former Ernakulam rural superintendent A.V. George for over three hours after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) got evidence  for his “direct interference” in the episode.

However, sources said further action against the senior officer, including arraigning him as an accused in the case, would be taken only after submission of a report to the government and the feedback thereafter.

George was summoned to the Aluva police club around noon and the SIT   led by IG  S. Sreejith  quizzed him on whether he gave directions to the three personnel of the now defunct Rural Tiger Force (RTF), who took the victim into custody on the night of April 6, without the knowledge of the police personnel of the local station. Further, the Crime Branch also got evidence of his “attempts to protect” the trio even when it was revealed that they had taken  the wrong person into custody on April 6.

The accused police personnel, including a circle inspector, had given statements against the senior officer during interrogation by the Crime Branch team. During the probe, it was also found the RTF squad members were unauthorisedly given ‘Good Service’ entries by the rural police chief, sources said.

The victim, a native of Devaswompadom, was taken into custody in connection with a house attack case. He died three days later allegedly due to custodial torture. It was later revealed that he was wrongly taken into custody and that the RTF personnel mistook him for another Sreejith alias Thulasidas, the main accused in the house attack case.