Rajan case
The Rajan case refers to the death of P. Rajan, a student of the erstwhile Regional Engineering College, Calicut, as a result of torture in local police custody in Kerala state, during the nationwide Emergency in India in 1976, and the legal battle that followed, which brought out the facts of the incident[1][2] to the public.
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[edit] Background
During the nationwide Emergency in India between 1975 and 1977 Fundamental Rights of the citizen were suspended by the government, and hence it was a period of police activism.[1] In Kerala, the Naxal movement was at its peak during this period. Major operations of Naxals in Kerala were attacks on police stations in rural area. Hence the police acted with vengeance upon the naxalites, and also used the word naxal to address those whom they had a vengeance upon.
[edit] The incident
P. Rajan, a student of the erstwhile Regional Engineering College (presently the National Institute of Technology), Calicut, was arrested by the Kerala Police on March 1, 1976,[3] during the nationwide Emergency in India, for alleged Naxal association. As was later revealed owing to a petition in the High Court of Kerala, he was held in police custody and tortured as part of the interrogation. He died due to the torture, especially due to something called uruttal (a practice of 'rolling' a heavy wooden log on the body of the victim). His body was then disposed of by the police, and was never recovered. Rajan's father T. V. Eachara Warrier complained to the authorities about his missing son. The police finally confirmed that he died in custody upon a habeas corpus suit (the first such suit in the history of Kerala) filed by his father in the High Court of Kerala.
[edit] The battle of T. V. Eachara Warrier
Rajan's father T. V. Eachara Warrier fought a long battle against the establishment to bring to light the facts behind the disappearance and through that expose atrocities committed by the state. This petition and subsequent investigations found that Rajan had indeed been taken into custody, and perhaps died when in police custody. His body was not found and due to this many charges against the accused in this case had to be dropped. The accused included the then chief of the Crime Branch wing of Kerala Police, DI Jayaram Padikkal. K. Karunakaran was the Home Minister during the emergency. He resigned from the post of the Chief Minister of Kerala in 1978 due to adverse judgement in the case.
[edit] In popular culture
The 1988 Malayalam film Piravi directed by Shaji N. Karun has its plotline adopted from this incident.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Rediff.com, Report dated June 26, 2000.
- ^ The Hindu Jan 25, 2011.
- ^ PUCL Archives, Oct 1981, Rajan.
