The victim’s daughter questions police after father’s death in Kochi crash
KOCHI: Police on Monday named an additional district judge posted at a court in Irinjalakuda as an accused in a fatal road accident involving his 17-year-old son, who was driving a Mercedes-Benz when it allegedly rammed into a scooter in Kochi. A senior Kochi City police officer confirmed that the relevant provisions had been invoked. Jayabalakrishnan, son of Rangaswamy Chettiyar and a resident of South Chittoor, was reportedly returning home after closing his roadside eatery when the accident occurred. Both the car and the scooter were travelling towards Kalamassery, and the Mercedes-Benz allegedly hit the scooter from behind. The family continued its protest late into the night, demanding action.
They alleged that the teenager was allowed to leave the police station and return home even before the police handed over their father’s body after the postmortem examination. Around midnight, police apprehended the teenager again and produced him before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) in the early hours of Monday. The Cheranelloor police station witnessed tense scenes on Sunday night as the victim’s children staged a protest after their father’s funeral.
The accident occurred around 2.20am on Sunday on Container Road near Maraparamb in Cheranelloor. The scooter rider, Jayabalakrishnan, 55, who ran a roadside eatery, died in the accident. Following protests by the victim’s family on Sunday night, police invoked Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
The teenager was initially taken into custody at the scene but was later released from the police station. Police invoked provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act against the judge, who is also the registered owner of the car, following protests by the victim’s family over alleged preferential treatment for the teenager. The Motor Vehicles Act provisions were subsequently invoked against the judge.