Pressure is mounting on Kerala police after witnesses and CCTV visuals have depicted negligence by the Neyyattinkara police in their handling of Sanal Kumar’s accident and the aftermath.
Sanal Kumar, 32, who was an electrician from Kodungavilla area in Neyyattinkara, died on Monday night after he was hit by an approaching car during an altercation with Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) B Harikumar.
Following the accident, Harikumar fled the scene, and witnesses state that though the Neyyattinkara police arrived at scene on time, they did not show any hurry to take Sanal Kumar, who was bleeding heavily, to the hospital. Witnesses alleged that instead of taking Sanal Kumar directly to the hospital, he was taken to the Neyyattinkara police station.
Asianet News on Wednesday released CCTV visuals which were recorded at 10:23 pm on Monday, which shows the ambulance that was carrying an injured Sanal Kumar going to the Neyyattinkara police station, instead of to the Medical College.
As per the report, this was done in order to change the policemen who were on shifts. The ambulance went to drop off constable Shibu whose shift got over and to pick up constable Satish Kumar, who was on night shift. It was only after this change in constables that the ambulance headed over to the Medical College. Sanal Kumar succumbed to his injuries even before reaching the hospital.
Following the release of the CCTV footage, both the constables were suspended.
The report states that the trip to the police station to change the police constables lead to a loss of 5 to 10 minutes, which may have proved costly to Sanal’s life.
Following the death of Sanal Kumar, a murder charge has been booked against DySP Harikumar, who is absconding. Three days after the death of Sanal Kumar, the Kerala police has yet to nab the main accused. According to media reports, Harikumar has absconded with a service revolver.
The investigation has reportedly been handed over to the Crime Branch from Nedumangad police. However, an official at the Crime Branch office said that details on who will lead the investigations and other information will only be decided on Thursday.