Kerala teen who killed himself was tortured, post mortem reveals: Did cops have a hand?

A young man from Kerala’s Thrissur district killed himself on July 18, just a day after he was released from police custody. His family alleged that 19-year-old Vinayak took the step after he was tortured in custody in a false case. Now, the post mortem report has confirmed that the Dalit youngster sustained serious injuries before he died, leading to serious questions over the police’s role.

On July 17, the Pavaratty police had picked up Vinayak, along with his friend Sarath, while they were speaking to Vinayak’s girlfriend. While the police claimed that the young men were picked up because their bike did not have valid papers, Sarath says that the police accused them of chain-snatching.

Sarath, who is currently under treatment in Thrissur Medical College, had earlier told media that Vinayak was badly tortured by a civil police officer named Sajan. Apparently, the police official was suspicious because Vinayak had long hair, with an unconventional hairstyle; they had alleged that he was behind some chain snatching cases.

While the police have denied the allegations of torture, the port mortem report that was released on Tuesday shows that Vinayak was brutally beaten up.

The report says that he had wounds on the right and left side of his chest. There were also wounds on his toes, which might have been caused by police boots.

The post mortem lists dry blood stains on his upper lip, the left side of his mouth, on his left forearm, left side of his chest, and on his big toe. The autopsy also lists three scalp contusions. Medical experts say that since he was in police station the day before he died, the wounds might have been a result of custodial torture.

There were also abrasions on his both nipples, giving strength to Sarath’s statement that the police had tortured Vinayak by pinching and hitting his nipples.

“When the police took us to the station, they first slapped us. Then, they hit him on his back. They also pinched his chest and nipples and kicked his legs with their boots on. They claimed we had snatched someone’s chain. They pulled his hair. They hit his private parts,” Sharath had told media on July 18.

Meanwhile, the Congress party in Thrissur has decided to protest against the alleged custodial violence.

“Those policemen were suspended after his death, but we will not allow them to wind up the case with just suspension. All the officers who were involved in it should be dismissed from service. Apart from that, they should be charged with abetment to suicide. Government should provide compensation to the family. We will strengthen our protests,” TN Prathapan, Thrissur DCC President told TNM.