Kerala man nabbed during vehicle inspection dies in police custody

People in the neighbourhood said that the man was taken into custody for alleged drunken driving but that he never used to drink.
Rep image of dead person
Rep image of dead person
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A 47-year-old man who was nabbed during a vehicle inspection on the night of March 25, Saturday allegedly collapsed, and died at a police station in Kerala's Ernakulam district. The deceased has been identified as Manoharan.

People in the neighbourhood claimed that Manoharan was taken into custody during a routine vehicle inspection on Saturday night for drunken driving. They alleged that a police team tried to stop the two-wheeler on which Manoharan was coming. Initially, he did not stop the vehicle but soon he came back. "The police asked him why he had not stopped the vehicle and beat him mercilessly," some people alleged.

Manoharan was taken into custody and brought to Hill Palace police station in Thrippunithura where he collapsed. He was then taken to a hospital where he was declared dead.

Ernakulam's Youth Congress President Mohammed Shiyaz, while speaking to IANS, hit out at the police and said: "... Custodial torture is the order of the day. Police don't have the right to beat up people, and Manoharan, according to people in his neighbourhood, is a person who never consumes liquor."

He also claimed that drug peddling is becoming a regular affair in Ernakulam but the police do not have any clue about this. Shiyaz said that there were 12 murders in Ernakulam district last year and the police were not able to crack them.

Rema Devi, an agriculture labourer who was a witness to the incident, told media persons that "the police tried to stop Manoharan but he did not stop the vehicle immediately. Soon, he stopped the vehicle and when he removed his helmet, the police slapped him on the face. Even after people nearby informed the police that Manoharan does not consume liquor, the police did not relent and took him into custody. We later heard the news about his death. He was an ordinary man with two children."

When contacted, Hill Palace Police station officials said that the police did not beat up Manoharan and he was brought to the station to be taken to the general hospital for an alcohol test.

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