Two weeks after the alleged custodial death of 49-year-old financier Rajkumar, another accused in the financial fraud case along with Rajkumar alleged on Sunday that the police brutally tortured Rajkumar with the intention to kill.
Rajkumar, a native of Kolahalamedu in Vagamon, was arrested by the Nedumkandam police on June 12 in connection with a financial fraud case. Shalini, who was one of the managing directors of Haritha Financiers (which was owned by Rajkumar) was also arrested but was released on bail on July 1. Rajkumar died on June 21, and although the post mortem mentions pneumonia as the cause of death, it also stated that the victim suffered blunt force injuries.
Speaking to the media on Sunday, Shalini said that the police physically assaulted both her and Rajkumar after they were arrested. “The police asked Rajkumar sir to kneel down on his knees and the moment he knelt down, they started thrashing him with a cane,” said Shalini.
She recalled that Rajkumar tried to plead with the sub-inspector (SI) to give him more time to return the money he had borrowed. “He kept telling the SI that he will return the money within 24 hours but they continued to torture like he was an animal,” said Shalini. “It’s all still fresh in my mind,” she added.
Stating that she will be able to recognise all the police officials who tortured Rajkumar, she said that there were about eight or nine police officials and all of them tortured Rajkumar with the intention to kill him. She also alleged that chilli powder was rubbed on her and Rajkumar’s private parts.
Rajkumar’s autopsy report stated that there were 22 injuries on his body. Four of his ribs and sternum were fractured, and contusions were detected on the soles of his feet, which indicated that Rajkumar was subjected to the infamous Falanga torture which involves continuously beating the soles of the victim’s feet.
Rajkumar’s death stirred a storm against the Kerala police and the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) government, whose Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is also the state Home Minister.
Amidst the outrage, the Crime Branch of the Kerala Police on Wednesday arrested two officers in connection with the case — a sub-inspector and a Civil Police Officer.