BUS PASSENGER’S MURDER

BUS PASSENGER’S MURDER

The brutal murder of a bus passenger, allegedly by Congress MP K. Sudhakaran’s security guard and two others at the Perumbavoor bus stand early Monday evening(10th October,2011), triggered an Opposition walkout in the Assembly on Wednesday,12th October,2011..Raghu (40), of Peruvembu in Palakkad and working in a plastic moulding company at Perumbavoor, was beaten up by the Congress MP’s security guard and two others inside the bus, in which they were travelling and later at the Perumbavoor bus stand accusing him of having snatched Rs. 10,000 from one of them. By the time the police took him to the Perumbavoor taluk hospital, he had died.


Describing the incident ‘barbaric’, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that the Raghu was totally innocent of the charge and that the money he had with him was that, which he had received by pawning his gold ornament. The police had taken two of the three persons, who had allegedly beaten up Raghu into custody and search was on for the third. The MP’s security guard, a constable in the Kerala Police, had been suspended from service. The police had charged them under Sections 302 and 304 of IPC. The saddest part was that none of those who witnessed the beating up at the bus stand intervened. This should raise some serious questions. The government would give all protection to Raghu’s family, Mr. Chandy said. Leader of the Opposition V. S. Achuthanandan said the situation in the State was such that if a policeman committed a crime, he would get all protection. The police could have caught the third person if they had interrogated the arrested persons closely. This went to show the government’s attitude towards all such issues. It had not cared to take action against Assistant Commissioner of Police K. Radhakrishna Pillai, who had opened fire at student agitators using his service revolver, he pointed out.

Earlier, seeking leave for an adjournment motion on the issue, Saju Paul (CPI-M), said it was nothing but brutal murder of an innocent person by the Congress MP’s body guard and certain others and wondered how the MP could claim that his body guard was innocent. He and K. Achuthan (Congress), from whose constituency Raghu hailed, urged the government to provide financial assistance and all possible protection to the victim’s family.

The Chief Minister said the family of Raghu would be given Rs 10 lakh as solatium Raghu’s wife would be given a job in government service. The post-mortem report indicates that the death of Raghu, a passenger, at the KSRTC bus terminal at Perumbavoor on Monday noght,could be due of injuries inflicted assaults.

Police sources said the post-mortem examination done at the Alappuzha Medical College showed Raghu died of cerebral hemorrhage, possibly due to blows received on head, and there were no other serious injuries in his body.
CPM led LDF opposition in Kerala Wednesday staged a walkout from the assembly against the alleged 'slow progress' in investigation into the case of a man beaten to death by three persons, including a gunman of Congress MP. Replying to a notice for an adjournment motion on the issue, Chief Minister Oomen Chandy denied the Opposition charge and termed the incident as 'very unfortunate and brutal' and said government would take stringent action against the culprits. He said gunman Satheesan and another man have been arrested and remanded to custody in connection with murder of Raghu, an employee of a private firm at Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district. "Satheesan has also been suspended from service and search is on for a third person involved in it," he said. Chandy said a preliminary probe had established Raghu was not a pickpocket and Rs 10000 found on him was the amount he got after mortgaging a gold ring in a co-operative bank in Palakkad. "Government will pay compensation to Raghu's family," CM announced. Raghu, a passenger in a KSRTC bus travelling to Perumbavoor was beaten to death on the night of October 10 by three co-passengers, who suspected him to be a pickpocket. Opposition alleged it was government's attitude that gave police courage to beat up persons in public and demanded action to remove those with criminal background from the force.


                                                                                                          Prof. John Kurakar