CBI court finds six policemen guilty of Udaya Kumar's custodial murder
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, July 24: Delivering relief to an aged mother who knocked all the doors to ensure that justice is done to her son whose life was cut short by callous men in uniform, the CBI Special Court on Tuesday found all the six policemen guilty in connection with the custodial murder of Udaya Kumar, a 27-year-old youth, at Fort Police station on September 27, 2005.
K Jithukumar and S V Sreekumar, who took Udaya Kumar and his friend Suresh Kumar to the station from a park in the city, were found guilty of murder while T Ajith Kumar (then S I), E K Sabu (then C I) and T K Haridas (then Assistant Commissioner) have been found guilty of fabricating evidences and hatching conspiracy. The third accused Soman, who was an additional sub-inspector at the time of murder, died during the trial. The quantum of punishment will be announced on Wednesday by CBI special court judge J Nasser. The first two accused were sent to remand while the rest have been asked to appear before the court on Wednesday.
Udaya Kumar and Suresh were whiling away time at Sreekandeshwaram Park when constables Jithukumar and Sreekumar apprehended them after they found `4500 in his pocket. Suspecting that the cash was stolen, the policemen took them to Fort station for interrogation. The duo were subjected to brutal third-degree treatment in a bid to extract confession from them. Udaya Kumar was also subjected to 'Uruttal'- a colloquial term used to mention the torture method where the lower limbs are crushed using a heavy wooden pestle-something that was widely used on naxal sympathisers in Kerala during the Emergency period.
The case that was investigated initially by the State Police before being taken over by the CBI witnessed several setbacks as witnesses, including Suresh and several police officers, turned hostile while there were efforts to fabricate evidence to implicate Udaya Kumar in theft case.
Courtesy: www.newindianexpress.com
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DJ Black Coffee's event in Goa cancelled after NOC revoked on Good Friday
Panaji (PTI): The Goa leg of Grammy-winning South African DJ Black Coffee's India tour was cancelled at the last minute on Friday evening after authorities revoked the event's No Objection Certificate (NOC), a move intended to honour the solemnity of Good Friday.
Officials on Saturday cited the need to respect local sentiments and the religious significance of the day as the primary reason for withdrawing the permission previously granted to host the "Sunset-to-Night" event.
The opposition Congress demanded a probe by the Economic Offences Cell of the state against the organisers.
The revocation of permission by the Communidade of Anjuna, in whose land the event was scheduled to be hosted, followed an objection by locals and the Congress, citing the solemn occasion of Good Friday and the upcoming Easter Sunday.
Local police officials confirmed that the organisers of "Sunset to Night" have cancelled the event, leaving many revellers disappointed.
Sebastian D'Souza, an attorney of Communidade of Anjuna, in a letter addressed to organisers, stated that the NOC granted to them on March 4, 2026, to host the musical event on April 3 in survey number 206/1 of Anjuna village has been unanimously revoked by the managing committee.
D'Souza stated that the date coincides with Holy Week, particularly Good Friday.
"This has been decided in the interest of residents of Anjuna, Vagator and Chapora," the letter reads.
The Comunidade of Anjuna is a traditional, collective land-holding institution in North Goa, part of the twelve comunidades of Bardez.
A huge crowd assembled outside the venue of the programme on Friday night as the word spread about the cancellation.
Several netizens posted reels on social media claiming they were informed about the cancellation at the last minute.
Earlier, the Congress had objected to hosting such an event on the sacred occasion of Good Friday, calling it "deeply insensitive and unacceptable."
"Your event, @Paradoxindia_, in Goa on the sacred occasion of Good Friday is deeply insensitive and unacceptable. @RealBlackCoffee , this is not just about music- it is about respecting faith. By going ahead with a techno show on a day of mourning for Christians, you have hurt religious sentiments not just in Goa, but across the world," Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President Amit Patkar had written on X.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, Patkar said that the state Congress would file a complaint with the Economic Offences Cell (EOC) against the organisers for allegedly selling tickets online without obtaining necessary permissions from authorities such as the Goa Pollution Control Board and the Fire and Emergency Services.
The event organisers could not be contacted immediately for their comment on the Congress leader's claim.
While at least 3,000 people had arrived in Goa to attend the event, the access road to the venue was not wide enough for Fire and Emergency Services vehicles to reach, Patkar claimed.
