THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : A fly flitted about before resting on the lips of the emaciated figure huddled under a soiled blanket on the pavement of one of the main thoroughfares in the capital city. As the city dwellers shuffled past him on yet another busy morning, Sreejith lay asleep, oblivious to all the mayhem unfolding around him during the peak hours.
More than two years have passed. It is his 732nd day protesting against the police excesses that led to the death of his brother Sreejeev. Sreejith has been protesting on the sidewalk adjoining the Secretariat, braving the elements. He began a hunger strike, something he has been resorting to every now and then, to ensure the speedy take-up of the case by the CBI.
His voice is feeble and wavers. He speaks slowly, pausing occasionally, trawling the depths of his memory to piece together the train of events over the past few years. Periodic hunger strikes and the incessant honking of vehicles have taken its toll on him.
Sreejith’s brother Sreejeev was taken into custody by the Parasala police on May 19, 2014, allegedly for stealing a mobile phone. Sreejeev was later shifted to the Medical College Hospital citing ingestion of poison and he died on May 21, 2014. Sreejeev maintains a fake case had been registered against his brother following his relationship with a girl in their neighbourhood. The girl was a relative of one of the policemen.
“We didn’t see him for a few months since he had stopped coming to the area following this issue. When we saw him last, he was bound to the hospital bed, battling for his life,” Sreejith recollects. He started the agitation when he sensed not much was being done to punish the perpetrators.
Following Sreejith’s complaint to the State Police Complaints Authority, the Commission filed a report in May 2016 stating the death was due to custodial torture and force-feeding of poison. The government later decided to hand over the investigation to the CBI. However, the CBI inquiry is yet to begin. But Sreejith isn’t ready to leave everything for the fate to decide and has intensified his struggle.
In the little space he has claimed for himself in the shade of a huge tree, he has put up two paintings of Budha which he painted over the past few days. At instances when he isn’t staring at the vast blue sky or watching the many lives buzz past him, he tries to read. “I am being taken good care of here,” Sreejith smiles faintly and gestures to the bare minimal household articles he uses.
The sleeping mat on which he rests, the blanket and other things have been given to him by strangers who have forged a bond with his cause. “I came here with just a pair of T-shirt and lungi. I didn’t have a penny in my pocket. But people have been helping me out.” The family had received a compensation of Rs 10 lakh. “It is not about money. It is about justice,” he adds.
“The system has to change. The government should have ordered a probe by an independent authority right when the report, stating the death was due to custodial torture, came out,” he says. “This won’t bring back my brother. Life isn’t going to be normal anymore. My protest here will end the day we get justice. But my fight will continue in other forms to ensure that such injustice doesn’t happen to anyone in future,” Sreejith adds with conviction.
More than two years have passed. It is his 732nd day protesting against the police excesses that led to the death of his brother Sreejeev. Sreejith has been protesting on the sidewalk adjoining the Secretariat, braving the elements. He began a hunger strike, something he has been resorting to every now and then, to ensure the speedy take-up of the case by the CBI.
His voice is feeble and wavers. He speaks slowly, pausing occasionally, trawling the depths of his memory to piece together the train of events over the past few years. Periodic hunger strikes and the incessant honking of vehicles have taken its toll on him.
Sreejith’s brother Sreejeev was taken into custody by the Parasala police on May 19, 2014, allegedly for stealing a mobile phone. Sreejeev was later shifted to the Medical College Hospital citing ingestion of poison and he died on May 21, 2014. Sreejeev maintains a fake case had been registered against his brother following his relationship with a girl in their neighbourhood. The girl was a relative of one of the policemen.
“We didn’t see him for a few months since he had stopped coming to the area following this issue. When we saw him last, he was bound to the hospital bed, battling for his life,” Sreejith recollects. He started the agitation when he sensed not much was being done to punish the perpetrators.
Following Sreejith’s complaint to the State Police Complaints Authority, the Commission filed a report in May 2016 stating the death was due to custodial torture and force-feeding of poison. The government later decided to hand over the investigation to the CBI. However, the CBI inquiry is yet to begin. But Sreejith isn’t ready to leave everything for the fate to decide and has intensified his struggle.
In the little space he has claimed for himself in the shade of a huge tree, he has put up two paintings of Budha which he painted over the past few days. At instances when he isn’t staring at the vast blue sky or watching the many lives buzz past him, he tries to read. “I am being taken good care of here,” Sreejith smiles faintly and gestures to the bare minimal household articles he uses.
The sleeping mat on which he rests, the blanket and other things have been given to him by strangers who have forged a bond with his cause. “I came here with just a pair of T-shirt and lungi. I didn’t have a penny in my pocket. But people have been helping me out.” The family had received a compensation of Rs 10 lakh. “It is not about money. It is about justice,” he adds.
“The system has to change. The government should have ordered a probe by an independent authority right when the report, stating the death was due to custodial torture, came out,” he says. “This won’t bring back my brother. Life isn’t going to be normal anymore. My protest here will end the day we get justice. But my fight will continue in other forms to ensure that such injustice doesn’t happen to anyone in future,” Sreejith adds with conviction.
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