CISF men sent to judicial custody, funeral of youth held

Kochi: The two Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel arrested for allegedly murdering a youth in Nedumbassery following an incident of alleged road rage were remanded in judicial custody on Friday. The case pertains to the crime that took place at Nayathodu near Kochi airport on Wednesday night.The accused, Vinaya Kumar Das, 28, an inspector, and Mohan Kumar, 31, a constable, both natives of Bihar, were attached to the air security group of CISF at the Kochi airport. They were produced before the Angamaly judicial first class magistrate court on Friday and sent to the Aluva sub-jail.Thuravoor St Augustine Church premises witnessed emotional scenes as hundreds of people poured in to attend the funeral of the victim, Ivin Jijo, 25, of Thuravoor near Angamaly on Friday. Ivin was on his way to work when the incident occurred. He was a chef with a flight catering service.Meanwhile, DYFI protested against the accused when they were brought to the court premises. Police recorded the arrest of Mohan Kumar on Thursday evening. Vinay Kumar, who sustained injuries, was discharged from the Govt Medical College, Kalamassery, and his arrest was recorded at Nedumbassery police on Friday morning.Sources said the remand report stated that a heated exchange ensued between the accused and the victim over rash overtaking. The victim tried to prevent the accused from leaving, insisting that they wait until police arrived. The first accused, Vinay, then drove the vehicle towards Ivin, and he clutched onto the bonnet of the vehicle. Despite the victim crying for help, they continued driving for about 600m. He fell after the car stopped but the accused dragged him for another 37m forward with him under it, with the intention to kill.Ivin succumbed to the injuries later.The investigation team cited the influence of the accused, since they are CISF officers, as a reason for not granting bail. Police argued that the accused might tamper with evidence or influence witnesses. They also suggested that the accused are a flight risk since both of them were from another state. Police are also planning to seek their custody for further interrogation and evidence collection.