After nearly 10 days of Vignesh's alleged custodial death, the key eyewitness in the case and the deceased's family gave details about the case and demanded justice.
The deceased's counsel too raised a few questions and demanded the police officers be suspended. The eyewitness, auto driver Prabhu, who was taking Vignesh and Suresh alias Ramesh, recalls the horrors he faced.
EYEWITNESS PRABHU'S ACCOUNT
Narrating the incident of April 18, Prabhu said, "I was returning after a drop from Retteri and I saw these two (Suresh and Vignesh) walking near Padi bridge. They wanted me to take them to Government Hospital. I asked them how much they would pay and they said Rs 150. I stay in Semenchery, so I thought this would anyway be a drop on the way to my house. But near Kelly's, the police stopped my vehicle."
He said the police stopped them and started asking questions. "They asked Suresh to remove his mask and took a photo. They realised Suresh had served time in prison before and they started beating him up. At that time, Vignesh was standing on one side. The police asked me how I knew them. I said 'I only know them as passengers'," Prabhu said.
Further, Prabhu revealed that when police started inquiring Vignesh, he gave up the knife in his possession. "Vignesh had a knife with him which he then kept on the police vehicle. The police asked Vignesh why he was carrying the knife, to which he said that he was a horse trainer and the knife was for cutting the horse's nails and for hoof trimming. The police then started hitting Vignesh. He was not able to even get up," Prabhu said. He added that the police thrashed Suresh and Vignesh on the road till around 2:30am.
"Police had taken them to the station around 2:50 am. I was at the station till nearly 3:15 and when I was leaving they asked me to give my number. But I said I lost my number and gave them my wife's number. The police inspector, Mohandas, called my wife and asked her to tell me to show up at the station.. but I was scared and so I didn't go to the station, but I went to court to meet my lawyer."