A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court directed the Director of Health Services to authorise a senior medical officer to conduct an inquiry into the allegation that the medical officer of Central Prison Poojapura didn’t take note of the injuries suffered by convicts of the Kevin murder case, who were allegedly assaulted by prison officers.
The court issued the directives while hearing a petition filed by parents of Tittu Jerome, a convict in the case. The petition alleged that Tittu and other inmates of the jail in Thiruvananthapuram were assaulted. The Division Bench, comprising Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice MR Anitha on Friday ordered that the inquiry report be placed on record within three weeks, The Hindu reported.
The inquiry was directed as the Director General of Police, Prisons had expressed helplessness to conduct an enquiry into the allegations against the doctor. The DGP had stated in an affidavit that the officers involved in the incident had been suspended and disciplinary proceedings were pending against them. In the affidavit, the punishment given to the convicts for allegedly bringing alcohol into the prison was also pointed out. The court however, directed the Superintendent of Prisons to place records of the inquiry conducted into the alleged smuggling of alcohol into the prison before it.
The Prisons Department had transferred three officials who had allegedly beaten up the convicts.
The HC on January 9 made an intervention on a plea by Tittu’s parents. In a habeas corpus petition before the HC, Jerome Kochukutty and Valsamma stated that they were not allowed to meet their son, who was allegedly brutally manhandled and was in an isolated cell of the jail. .