In yet another major twist to the DSP Vishnupriya suicide case, caste-leader and murder-accused Yuvaraj, who is absconding from the police on facing charges of murdering Dalit youth Gokulraj, has released an audio conversation between himself and DSP Vishnupriya. In the audio clip, the veracity of which TNM cannot attest to, DSP Vishnupriya says that she is under immense pressure from officials over the case, and hints that several others who have helped Yuvaraj have been arrested ‘unnecessarily’ as he is absconding.
DSP Vishnupriya was the investigating officer in the Gokulraj murder case. After she committed suicide on September 18, friends and family members alleged that it was due to pressure from senior officers in the case that she committed suicide. She had written in her suicide note, however, that her decision had nothing to do with the case.
The audio clip released runs for 51 minutes, out of which nearly 20 minutes is a recorded conversation between DSP Vishnupriya and Yuvaraj. We do not know when the conversation took place, and Yuvaraj says that he was in Kannur in Kerala at that time. Also, only a part of the recorded conversation between the two has been released, we do not know how the conversation ended.
From the audio conversation, we can see some main pointers emerging.
Vishnupriya says that she is suffering because of the case and the fact that Yuvaraj is absconding, she says she is under pressure from senior officers over this case.
She says that she is fighting against the remand of the 6 others who have been arrested in the case because Yuvaraj is absconding. She says they have been arrested and slapped with Goondas Act case ‘unnecessarily’ since the main accused, Yuvaraj, is not surrendering.
She says that the department is not one person, it has many others also. She assures him that if he surrenders then she will cancel the Goondas case on others and release them.
She asks him why he cannot think of the others who have been arrested because of him, and suffering for him? She pleads with him to come and surrender.
When Yuvaraj says that it is for a social cause that he and others are suffering, she says that they are not freedom fighters and that this is a murder case.
She even tells him that your brother and wife are suffering because of him, and that he should surrender.
She also does not deny the fact that Yuvaraj’s wife, relative and friends are suffering due to the pressure on them.
In response to her, Yuvaraj says that he was initially inclined to surrender in the Coimbatore court but he went absconding because the police started targeting his family and friends. He says that he is also under pressure and that the police were stopping him from getting anticipatory bail. Importantly, he says that he is willing to surrender under the assurance from her that he will be dealt with lawfully and not targeted by the police.
Later Yuvaraj attempts to portray himself as a victim using the audio conversation. He alleges that senior officers in the police force where targeting him at the behest of some politicians. Though he names some officers, Namakkal MP SR Senthil Kumar, ADSP Chandramohan and DSP Raju , he does not name any politicians.
Yuvaraj also says that she was an honest officer and when she could not stand the repeated instructions to do wrong, and was spoken to badly in front of prisoners, she could not handle it.
He says he will fight for Vishnupriya, and in seven days if no action is taken against those he has accused, he will go to the Madras High Court. He is ready to face any action or investigation in the Gokulraj murder case, he says.
With Yuvaraj on the run and facing murder charges himself, it remains to be seen if the CB-CID, which is not investigating the suicide, will see his ‘proof’ as credible.