Home minister Ramesh Chennithala visits the family of Jayabalarishnan in Kochi on Saturday
The court has directed the investigating officer to produce the case diary on Nov 2.
The home minister said that govt will remain firmly with the family and that the police have already moved the court to cancel the bail of the minor accused. Meanwhile, the additional district and sessions court designated to try cases involving atrocities against women and children in Ernakulam heard both sides on the petition moved by the prosecution to cancel the bail. After being apprised of content on social media identifying the minor who is in conflict with law, the court directed police to remove the content and to initiate action against those responsible.
Kochi : Home minister Ramesh Chennithala said on Saturday that a special prosecutor will be appointed as per the wishes of the family of Jayabalakrishnan, who was killed in a road accident caused by the minor son of an additional sessions judge at Cheranalloor.
Chennithala said that police have launched a strict crackdown on driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs. It was also submitted before the court that the social media profile of the juvenile was deleted soon after the juvenile was released on bail, to which the defence countered that the move was to protect the privacy of the teenager and his family.
This cannot be allowed,” he said. The family can decide on whom they need as a prosecutor and we will assign the person chosen by the family as special prosecutor,” said Chennithala, adding that he has given the same assurance to Jayabalakrishnan’s daughter Bhadra Keerthi. “Accidents caused by drivers under the influence have become common, claiming the lives of innocents. He added that govt will seriously consider making the law more stringent and that the state govt was committed to ensuring justice for the victim’s family. “We can assign a special public prosecutor. The prosecution argued that it possesses footage showing the accused driving at a speed exceeding 100kmph. Advocate M G Sreejith appeared for the family and argued that the juvenile justice board had acted beyond its mandate in granting bail to the accused. He submitted that sending the child in conflict with law to a juvenile home was the appropriate course of action.
He was speaking to the media after visiting the victim’s house and meeting the family on Saturday.