Asst Public Prosecutor Aneeshya's death: Departmental inquiry against DySP, SI for lapses in probe

Thiruvananthapuram: The home department has launched a departmental inquiry against two police officers after prima facie findings of "serious dereliction of duty and irresponsibility" on their part while investigating the suicide of Kollam Assistant Public Prosecutor S Aneeshya (41). According to the government order dated September 18, an oral inquiry has been initiated against DySP Shibu N and Sub-Inspector Sujith G Nair. Shibu was then heading the Kollam City Crime Branch.

Activists monitoring the case were surprised that the inquiry came a year and eight months after her death, especially as the accused -- Aneeshya's boss and colleague -- had already returned to service following their suspension and arrest. Aneeshya, who was the Assistant Public Prosecutor of the Munsiff and Magistrate Court in Kollam's Paravur, died by suicide over workplace harassment on January 20 in her house, close to the court complex. She was the wife of the then Mavelikkara Sessions Court Judge K N Ajith Kumar. Ajith Kumar K N is now serving as an Additional District and Sessions Judge in Ernakulam.

In the initial days of investigation, he had handed over to the police a 19-page note written by Aneeshya accusing her boss, Kollam Deputy Director of Prosecution Abdul Jalil, and her junior colleague Assistant Public Prosecutor Shyam Krishna K of harassing and humiliating her publicly and blaming them for her death. Several voice messages of Aneeshya also surfaced, where she repeated the allegations.

Four days after her death, the government suspended Jalil and Shyam Krishna from service, based on a report submitted by the office of the Director General of Prosecution. In April 2024, after several protests by civil society members, the State Crime Branch arrested them for alleged abetment of suicide. The court granted them bail on the same day. The government later revoked their suspension, and Abdul Jalil and Shyam Krishna joined service in another district.

Initially, Paravur Police registered a case under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and initiated an investigation into the "unnatural death" of Aneeshya. There were widespread protests against the police for not registering an FIR. Section 174 of the CrPC was to submit a report on the cause of death, which was suicide, and not to investigate the accused.

Later, the government transferred the case to the Kollam District Crime Branch, and on March 11, 2024, handed over the case to the State Crime Branch. But it did not give permission to register an FIR under Section 154 of the CrPC, which allows police to investigate the role of the accused in a case and invoke relevant charges, such as abetment to suicide, against them.

With the Crime Branch sitting on the case, waiting for government permission, Aneeshya's mother, Prasanna P M, approached the High Court of Kerala seeking an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into her death. She said she had no confidence in the police investigation.
High Court Judge P G Ajith Kumar, who took up Prasanna's petition, sought the state government's view.

Soon, on March 20, the State Crime Branch altered the FIR from unnatural death to abetment of suicide under Section 306 of the IPC and submitted the report to the Judicial First Class Magistrate (JFCM) Court-II at Paravur. The Kerala Judicial Officers' Association -- a collective of magistrates and judges -- had also written to the High Court of Kerala and the government seeking an investigation by an IPS officer or an independent agency.

In the latest order, the government said the departmental inquiry against DySP Shibu N and the Sub-Inspector Sujith Nair would be conducted by Deputy Commissioner of Police (Administration), Thiruvananthapuram City - M K Zulfiqer. The officer was picked from a panel of names recommended by the State Police Chief. The officer has been directed to submit a draft memo of charges within two weeks and complete the inquiry within two months.