Man ends 782-day protest after India’s premier investigating agency begins to probe his brother’s death

NEW DELHI, Feb. 2 — A man in southern Indian state of Kerala has
ended his 782-day protest after the country’s premier investigating agency
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) began investigating his brother’s
death.

S R Sreejith, who has been on a strike in front of the secretariat (chief
minister’s office) in Thiruvananthapuram ended his protest on Wednesday
after being told CBI has kicking off a probe into death of his brother S R
Sreejeev. Sreejeev was found dead on May 21, 2014. While police closed
the case of Sreejeev’s death as a suicide, Sreejith believes his brother
was killed in police custody. “I stopped the strike for the time being as
the CBI officials promised a fair probe into my brother’s custodial death,”
Sreejith said. “I also need to restore my health to give detailed
statements to the CBI team and as much evidence as I can.” The
investigators from CBI recorded statements of Sreejith and his mother,
following which he ended his strike.

Sreejith reportedly told CBI that the suicide note produced by the police
to support their claim was not that of Sreejeev. The 26-year-old Sreejeev
was taken into police custody at Parassala on May 19, 2014 in connection
with a theft of a mobile and he died on May 21. Police stated he was taken
into custody on charges of the theft of mobile phones and he consumed
poison inside police custody. However, Sreejeev’s family maintains he was
severely tortured. The family alleged he was detained for being in a
relationship with a girl, who happened to be related to one of the police
officers.

With police investigation concluding there was no evidence of custodial
torture, it prompted Sreejith to insist on a CBI probe and subsequently go
for a strike. Sreejith sat on a protest in front of the secretariat
braving vagaries of weather and demanding an independent inquiry into his
brother’s death. As the strike continued for over two years, his
persistence got him massive public support, which went manifold on the
social media, following which lawmakers pressed the federal government for
a CBI probe. – XINHUA