Udayakumar custodial death case: Errors are only technical, say CBI

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CBI has told the Supreme Court that only technical errors led to the acquittal of the accused in the Udayakumar custodial death case. The High Court had earlier acquitted all the police officers, including K. Jithakumar, who had been awarded the death penalty, criticising the investigation as flawed. The CBI has now challenged this decision, saying there were no major lapses in the probe.

The Special Crime Unit in Thiruvananthapuram investigated the case. The High Court had ordered further investigation, but the CBI carried out a fresh probe instead. It re-registered the FIR on its own. While the Additional Sessions Court was hearing the case, the CBI approached the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court seeking approval for turning some accused into approvers. The High Court pointed out that the investigation report was submitted beyond jurisdiction and highlighted these errors while acquitting the accused.

However, the CBI argues that these were only technical issues and that the accused had admitted their guilt in the trial court. It said Udayakumar died due to brutal torture inside the police station. The agency added that inconsistencies in witness statements are part of the investigation process. Since the accused were police officers, punishment is necessary, the CBI said, urging that the acquittal order be cancelled. The appeal was filed after approval from the central Ministry of Personnel based on the recommendation of the CBI’s Thiruvananthapuram unit.

Brutal custodial death Udayakumar was arrested from Sreekandeswaram Park on September 27, 2005, and was allegedly beaten and tortured to death at the Fort police station. The postmortem report found 22 serious injuries on his body. The case was first investigated by local police and the Crime Branch before being handed over to the CBI. The first accused, ASI Jithakumar, and the second accused, CPO Sreekumar, were earlier sentenced to death. The third accused, Soman, died during the trial, and Sreekumar died before the High Court verdict.