Custodial death case: Senior Kerala Police official transferred
Aluva (Kerala), April 21: A senior Kerala Police official - Ernakulam's Superintendent of Police, Rural, A.V.George was on Saturday was transferred in wake of the ongoing Crime Branch probe into a custodial death in the district.
Already a Sub-Inspector of Police and the three policemen who first took into custody the victim -- Sreejith, 26 -- have been arrested and according to informed police sources, more action against police officials, including George, is imminent.
Incidentally the three arrested policemen all are directly under the charge of George and just before their arrest, the three of them, in a video later shown on TV channels, had feared that they would be made scapegoats to save top officers.
George has been in the news for a while as he was involved in the arrest of PDP leader Abdul Nasir Maudany a few years back, probed the actress kidnap case, which led to the arrest of superstar Dileep and a few other high profile cases.
He was tight-lipped when asked if he felt that this transfer is some sort of a disciplinary action against him.
The action against George has come at a time with the Congress-led opposition are up in arms over the custodial death as State Congress president M.M.Hassan has demanded that George be suspended and Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala is going on a 24 hour fast on Monday at Kochi demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the custodial death.
Trouble started for Sreejith after 56-year-old Vasudevan hanged himself after a group of men barged into his house and threatened him.
A special squad took Sreejith, father of a two-year-old, and nine others into custody on April 7 and charged them with abetment to suicide and rioting. Subsequently, Sreejith was taken to a hospital where he died on April 9.
The state government earlier suspended the Circle Inspector, Sub-Inspector Deepak and two other policemen of the Varapuzha police station in the case.
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Air India Express increases flight operations from NE destinations
Guwahati (PTI): Low-cost airline Air India Express has announced an increase in flight operations from three major destinations in the northeast – Guwahati, Agartala and Imphal – as part of its winter schedule.
This is part of the airlines’ expansion of winter services across the country, it said in a statement here.
Air India Express has increased its operations to 106 weekly flights from 63 last winter, from Guwahati.
It provides direct connectivity to eight domestic destinations of Agartala, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Imphal, Jaipur and Kolkata. The airline also provides one-stop connectivity to 18 domestic destinations and six international destinations from Guwahati.
In Imphal, the airline hiked its weekly flights to 34 this season, an addition of 20 over last winter, the statement said.
Since adding Agartala as a station in September 2024, the airline has increased its flights from 14 to 21 weekly, and connects two destinations – Guwahati and Kolkata – directly.
It also offers one-stop connectivity from Agartala to 11 domestic destinations.
“The expansion not only facilitates easier travel for those wishing to explore North East, but also strengthens Guwahati’s role as a vital link with the rest of the country,” Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) Ankur Garg said.
“With our fleet now exceeding 90 aircraft and rapidly growing, we are well-positioned to support the evolving needs of emerging Indian cities,” he added.
