Kasaragod: Police's Crime Branch is likely to give a clean chit to three police officers involved in the hot pursuit of a car that overturned after five kilometres, killing schoolboy Kunnil Veettil Farhas (17) of Puthige grama panchayat. Four of his classmates from the Government Higher Secondary School at Puthige's Angadimogar were also in the car.
Kasaragod Police Crime Branch DySP P K Manoj Kumar, heading the investigation, took the statements of the three police officers of Kumbla station and three students, who were in the car.
"The students did not give statements to corroborate the allegations of Farhas' family that police misbehaved with the boys before pursuing them," said an officer.
The three police officers -- sub-inspector Rejith S R and civil police officers Deepu T and Ranjith P V -- told the inquiry that they did not even know that schoolchildren were in the car.
The Crime Branch also found the sedan the boys were driving was "not fully fit" for the road, said the officer privy to the investigation. "The Motor Vehicle Department will make the final assessment," he said.
The three findings are part of the preliminary investigation into Farhas' death, said the officer.
Manjeshwar MLA A K M Ashraf, at the forefront of the protest demanding action against the three officers, said the Crime Branch's findings were not surprising. "Right from the beginning, the police starting from the District Police Chief were trying to protect the officers responsible for the car chase that led to the accident," he said.
Farhas' paternal uncle Mohammed Rafeek said he would move the Kerala High Court seeking a CBI investigation into the accident and death. "I have enough CCTV footage and recordings of calls made by cops to prove that the police knew exactly who they were chasing on the dangerous road," said Rafeek.
Farhas' father Abdulla (55), a native of Kannur in Puthige panchayat, died of cancer two years ago. His mother Safiya, a homemaker, had written to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking action against the police officers.
'Have evidence to expose police lies'
The incident happened on August 25, a Friday, when Farhas' school was celebrating Onam. His classmate Fasal Rahman* (18) borrowed a Nissan Sunny from an NRI relative and took the car to school. (Name changed to protect identity.)
Around 1 pm, Fasal exited the school with around nine friends in the car, said Rafeek, Farhas' uncle. He pulled over at Khatib Nagar, 100 m from the school with a few shops, and four students got down. The sedan was still parked at Khatib Nagar when a police jeep pulled over near it.
Rafeek alleged some of the officers, including sub-inspector Rejith, were drunk. "When the SI saw the car had students from Angadimuger school, he menacingly approached it and kicked the open door," Rafeek said. A boy was trying to get out to buy a bottle of water.
"The officer then used an expletive word and asked the boys 'Aren't you students of Angadimuger school?'. He then asked them to get into the police jeep," said Rafeek. This panicked the boys and Fasal pressed the pedal to the metal and sped away, scraping past the police jeep, he said.
There's a bit of a history between the officers and students of GHSS, Angadimuger. A week before August 25, students of Class XI and XII clashed with one another. The school called the officer to counsel them. "In the counselling class, the officer did not counsel them but threatened the students with police action if they fought again. Even teachers were shocked by what he said," said Rafeek.
On August 23, when he allegedly asked the students to get into the police jeep, they were scared.
U-turns and contradictions
When the sedan sped away, the officers jumped into their jeep and chased it. Only SI Rejith and civil police officers Deepu and Ranjith were in the jeep. "They were in such a hurry that they left behind the designated police driver and another officer," said Rafeek.
Initially, the police said they did not chase the car. They made a U-turn after the family released CCTV footage from several private cameras along the road.
Police also wrongly alleged that Fasal did not have a driving licence and the owner of the car had a criminal history. "The car's owner did not even have a petty case against him," Rafeek said.
The hot pursuit happened on the treacherous Khatib Nagar-Katathadka road, a 3.5 km climb with six sharp curves and several government offices, shops, mosques, madrasas, a post office, and a school. "The Puthige UP school was also celebrating Onam that day and the car and jeep zipped past the school. The road frequently sees accidents," Rafeek said. CCTV footage showed the police jeep and car honking, and the police were five to 10 metres behind the boys.
After reaching the busy Katathadka junction, where roads from Seethangoli and Kumbla meet, the car turned right towards Arikady (Kumbla) on the highway.
Before the car reached Arikady, the vehicle skidded off the road and turned several times.
Farhas, who was sitting in the front row, was seriously injured. The three minor boys behind and the driver Fasal Rahman escaped with minor injuries.
Rafeek said Farhas walked out of the car and was taken to Kumbla Cooperative Hospital in the police jeep. The other students ran away. On reaching the hospital, the doctors said he suffered a spinal injury on the neck and his limbs were paralysed. "We want an investigation into that too because people have seen him walking to the police jeep," said Rafeek.
Even after taking Farhas to the hospital in Kumbla, the police did not inform his family. "Our house is only five minutes by car from the hospital. Yet they did not inform us," said Rafeek. The family came to know of the accident from a neighbour who was at the cooperative hospital.
The police then took Farhas to another hospital in Mangaluru in an ambulance. The family said the police officers left as they reached the hospital in Mangaluru. "They did not wait to see us or tell us what had happened," he said. After three days and a half in the hospital, Farhas succumbed to his injuries on Onam day, August 29.
'Officers ignored state police chief's guidelines'
The boy would not have died had the police not chased the car, said his mother Safiya.
According to a 2012 circular issued by State Police Chief Jacob Punnoose, officers were directed to use traffic surveillance cameras, mobile phone cameras, hand-held video cameras, breath alcometers, and speed radars to detect offences. "This will not only provide us (police) with proof which could be sent to offenders while asking them to remit fines but also ensure that police do not have to enter into unnecessary arguments with vehicle drivers," it said.
The circular specifically asked police officers not to pursue two-wheeler riders in a "hot chase" to book them for not wearing helmets, lest they would endanger the lives of the riders and officers. "The officers ignored the guidelines," said Rafeek.
On August 31, two days after the boy died, District Police Chief Vaibhav Saxena transferred SI Rejith S R, and civil police officers Deepu T and Ranjith P V to the control room in Kanhangad "on administrative grounds".
Rafeek said the police violated laid-down protocol and engaged in hot pursuit of the car. "The fitness of the car is irrelevant here. The car did not topple because it was unfit but because it was going at a high speed and chased by the police," he said.
He said police had to retract several statements given to the family after being presented with digital evidence. "We have proof to prove the police officers lied to the Crime Branch. We will take these pieces of evidence to the court to demand a fair investigation," he said.
