May 05, 2024 07:26 AM IST
Thamir Jifri along with four more people were picked up by DANSAF squad on July 31, 2023 on charge of having 18.14gm of MDMA.
Four police officers were arrested on Saturday by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for murder of Thamir Jifri (30) while in custody in Tanur in Malappuram district in August last year, people familiar with the matter said.
The arrested officers have been identified as senior civil police officer (CPO) Ginesh (37), CPO Albin Augustine (36), CPO Abhimanyu (35) and CPO Vipin (38), all of whom were members of the District Anti-Narcotics Special Action Force (DANSAF) of the Kerala police.
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They were produced before the chief judicial magistrate (CJM) court in Ernakulam, which remanded them to 14 days of judicial custody.
Jifri, resident of Tirurangadi, was picked up by the DANSAF squad on July 31 last year along with four others on charge of possessing 18.14 grams of MDMA, also known as ecstasy, and booked under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.
At the Tanur police station, during questioning, Jifri collapsed and was rushed to a nearby private hospital where doctors declared him dead at 4:30 am on August 1.
According to the initial FIR registered by the Tanur police, Jifri showed signs of drug overdose. However, a later investigation by the Crime Branch pointed towards custodial torture.
On August 2, eight policemen including the sub-inspector of Tanur police station were suspended pending inquiry.
The officials said that the accused cops face charges of wrongful confinement, wrongful confinement to extort confession, custodial torture, voluntarily causing hurt, causing hurt using dangerous weapons and murder among others as per the FIR registered by the CBI.
While the case was initially probed by the state police crime branch, it was handed to the CBI following a High Court directive on September 8, 2023.
The autopsy report of the 30-year-old stated that there were 21 injury marks on his body, indicating severe physical assault. There were bruises on the bottom end of his spine, under the legs, swelling in his lungs and injuries on his thighs.
Haris Jifri, the elder brother of Thamir Jifri, hailed the CBI action in the case.
“Even though it’s quite late, the arrests of the four officers have finally been made. We are happy. Let the law take its course,” he said.
He alleged that his brother and the others picked up by the DANSAF squad were beaten for almost 10 hours in custody.
“At every stage, the police tried to change the course of the case and frightened us into withdrawing the charges. But we resisted all their attempts,” he added.
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vishnu Varma is Assistant Editor and reports from Kerala for the Hindustan Times. He has 10 years of experience writing for print and digital platforms and has worked at The New York Times, NDTV and The Indian Express in the past. He specialises in longform reportage at the intersections of politics, crime, social commentary and environment.
