Thiruvananthapuram: Kollam district crime branch on Tuesday began an investigation into the death of a private bus driver, who died days after being released by Kundara police. Taking suo motu cognisance of media reports, Kerala state human rights commission (KSHRC) directed Kollam rural police chief to probe allegations of custodial assault and submit a report within seven days.Crime branch DSP M Prasad, who is leading the investigation, visited Siyad’s house at Perumpuzha on Tuesday and recorded statements of his father, Badruddin, and his two children. The team is expected to question police personnel involved in the case and examine medical records, witness statements and other evidence as part of the inquiry.Siyad, 39, a private bus driver on the Kundara-Kollam route, died at govt medical college hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, on July 24 while undergoing treatment.The case snowballed after an audio message, purportedly recorded by Siyad’s daughter, surfaced on social media alleging that he was assaulted by police personnel after being taken into custody in a missing child case. The complainant in the case later said she had witnessed police assaulting Siyad, prompting state govt to order a crime branch investigation and a parallel departmental inquiry against the officers concerned.KSHRC directed the officials concerned to appear before it with the investigation report during its sitting in Thiruvananthapuram on Aug 5.According to police, Siyad was taken into custody on July 16 after receiving a complaint in connection with two Class VII students going missing from the neighbourhood. He was released the following day after the children were traced.Police have denied allegations of custodial assault, maintaining that CCTV footage from the police station hadn’t revealed any assault. They also cited the preliminary postmortem findings, attributing the death to complications arising from hepatitis and an infection affecting the heart. It stated that no external injuries suggestive of assault were found on the body. Investigators are also examining whether Siyad could have been assaulted after his release from police custody.“We will conduct a comprehensive investigation into the alleged assault inside the police vehicle. If any lapse on the part of the police is found, appropriate action will be taken,” said Kollam rural SP Shaji Sugunan.
