IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE V.RAMKUMAR FRIDAY, THE 1ST FEBRUARY 2008 / 12TH MAGHA 1929 WP(C).No. 17061 of 2007(F) -------------------------- PETITIONER: ------------ RAJU R., AGED 58 YEARS, S/O. RAMAN, C.C.NO.5/964, DEVASWOMPARAMPIL, PALACE ROAD, MATTANCHERRY VILLAGE, KOCHI TALUK, ERNAKULAM DISTRICT. BY ADV. SRI.PMA.KALAM RESPONDENTS: ------------- 1. STATE OF KERALA, REPRESENTED BY SECRETARY (HOME DEPARTMENT), SECRETARIATE, TRIVANDRUM. 2. THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE, POLICE HAD QUARTERS, TRIVANDRUM. 3. THE COMMISSIONER OF POLICE, KOCHI CITY, ERNAKULAM. 4. THE SUB INSPECTOR OF POLICE, CHERANALLOOR POLICE STATION, CHERANALLOOR P.O., ERNAKULAM. BY GOVERNMENT PLEADER SRI.M.S. BREEZE THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON 28/01/2008 , THE COURT ON 01-02-2008 DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: W.P.C. 17061 OF 2007 APPENDIX PETITIONER'S EXTS: EXT.P1: TRUE COPY OF FIR IN CR. 159 OF 2006 OF CHERANALLUR POLICE STATION EXT.P2: TRUE COPY OF POSTMORTEM CERTIFICATE DATED 29- 5-2006 ISSUED BY DR. AJAY, SR. LECTURER IN FORENSIC MEDICINE & ASSISTANT POLICE SURGEON, ALAPPUZHA MEDICAL COLLEGE EXT.P3: TRUE COPY OF AGREEMETN DATED 13-2-2007 ENTERED INTO BETWEEN THE PETITIONER AND HIS SON-IN- LAW EXT.P4: TRUE COPY OF PETITION SENT BY THE PETITIONER BEFORE THE CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER, KOCHI CITY, DATED 31-5-2006 EXT.P5: TRUE COPY OF PETITIOND ATED 19-6-2006 SUBMITTED BY THE PETITIONER BEFORE THE HON'BLE THE CHIEF MINISTER EXT.P6: TRUE COPY OF LETTER DATED 20-10-2006 ISSUED FROM THE OFFICE OF THE HOME MINISTER TO THE OPPOSITION LEADER EXT.P7: TRUE COPY OF NEW ITEM APPEARED IN THE MALAYALA MANORAMA DAILY DATED 31-5-2006 EXT.P8: TRUE COPY OF NEWS ITEM APPEARED IN THE MALAYALA MANORAMA DAILY DATED 7-6-2006 REGARDING THE DEATH OF THE PETITIONER'S DAUGHER. V. RAMKUMAR, J. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * W.P. ( C) No. 17061 of 2007 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Dated: 01-02-2008 JUDGMENT In this Writ Petition filed under Art. 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner seeks a direction to the Director General of Police to hand over the investigation of Crime No. 159 of 2006 of Cheranellur Police Station to the Crime Branch Police and for a further direction to the director General of Police to constitute a Special Investigation Team for a fair and proper investigation leading to the circumstances culminating in the death of the petitioner's daughter Rekha with a view to book the real culprits behind the alleged murder of Rekha. 2. The dead body of the petitioner's daughter, 26 year old Rekha, was found in the Manjummal lake near Cheranellur on 27-5-2006 under mysterious circumstances and in a manner evoking suspicion. Her right upper limp was seen amputated. There was a deep fracture of her skull. There were several injuries all over her body. 3. The marriage between Rekha of Mattancherry and W.P. ( C) No. 17061 of 2007 -:2:- Revi of Cheranellur was solemnised on 14-12-2003 in accordance with the religious custom and rites prevailing in the Hindu Community. At the time of marriage, as demanded by Revi, 10 sovereigns of gold ornaments and 50,000 rupees were given by way of Rekha's share over her property. After the marriage both Revi and Rekha lived in the matrimonial home at Cheranellur. After six months of the marriage, according to the petitioner, Revi and other members of his family began to behave cruelly towards Rekha who was harassed both mentally and physically. Revi was a drunkard and he used to habitually consume alcohol and pick up quarrels with Rekha after coming home drunk. On 24-5-2006 Revi took her to her house at Mattancherry. She stayed there till 27-5-2006. On 27-5-2006 at about 7.30 a.m. after picking up a quarrel with her Revi took her to his house at Cheranellur. From Menaka stop Revi is alleged to have sent Rekha alone by bus to Cheranellur. The dead body of Rekha was sighted in the Manjummal lake at about 12 noon on 27-5- 2006. The story that she had stolen three bangles on 16-5-2006 from the house of one Lekshmanan a neighbour residing near W.P. ( C) No. 17061 of 2007 -:3:- her matrimonial home and she gave it to her husband's brother by name Venugopalan for pledging the same and he had pledged the bangles in his name at the Cheranellur Branch of the Federal Bank, appears to be a concocted one, presumably spread by the family members of Revi all of whom had been ill- treating her with demands for more dowry . This is more so since the wife of the brother-in-law of Rekha is related to the said Lakshmanan from whose house the gold bangles were allegedly stolen . It seems improbable that Rekha would have stolen the bangles from that house and entrusted the same with her brother-in-law for pledging when the very same brother- in-law related to the said Lakshmanan. It cannot be forgotten that Revi and the members of his family had been treating Rekha with cruelty. Hence, they would be interested in inventing some story to make it believe that Rekha had committed theft of three gold bangles from their neighbour and when caught, her self - respect was wounded and unable to bear the humiliation, she committed suicide. 4. There is yet another improbability in the version W.P. ( C) No. 17061 of 2007 -:4:- given by the local police. Rekha was last seen alive in the company of her husband at about 7.30 or 8 a.m. on 27-5-2006. Going by the conclusions of the local police, she must have been hit by a running train and fallen into the Periyar river from the railway bridge at Aluva on her way to Cheranellur from Mattancherry. But, on the very same day at about 1 p.m. her dead body was seen floating in the Manjummal lake near Cheranelloor which is about 10 kms. upstream from the spot below the Aluva railway bridge. An explanation is due as to how her body drifted upstream for about 10 kms. within 4 or 5 hours. 5. One of the conclusions reached by the local police to infer that Rekha's death might have been due to the hitting of a running train and her consequent fall from the railway bridge at Aluva into the Periyar river. The first postmortem report dated 29-5-2006 tentatively concluded that Rekha died of head injury. But that was prior to the report of chemical analysis on the bone marrow, viscera, blood etc. Subsequently, as per final opinion dated 2-5-2007, the autopsy surgeon concluded that W.P. ( C) No. 17061 of 2007 -:5:- Rekha died of the combined effect of head injury and drowning. The chemical report revealed identical diatoms in the bone marrow sample and the water sample collected from the medium in which the dead body was found. For getting the diatom test conducted, the water sample collected was not from the alleged spot where her body fell into the Periyar River but from the Manjummal lake about 10 kms. away from the above spot. Hence, it cannot conclusively be inferred that the cause of death was drowning or that when her dead body came into contact with the water she was alive or dead. 6. The aforementioned improbabilities and contradictions in the theory put forward by the local police induces me to entrust the investigation of this case with the Crime Branch Police. Accordingly, further investigation of Crime No. 159 of 2006 of Cheranellur Police Station shall be entrusted with Crime Branch Police. The 2nd respondent, Director General of Police shall pass orders entrusting further investigation of the above crime with the C.B.C.I.D within two weeks of receipt of a copy of this order. The officer of the Crime W.P. ( C) No. 17061 of 2007 -:6:- Branch Police who is eventually entrusted with the investigation of the case shall conduct a fair and impartial investigation and submit a final report before the Magistrate concerned expeditiously after a scientific study leaving no stone unturned. This Crl. M.C. is allowed as above. V. RAMKUMAR, (JUDGE) ani.