Indian man ends protest after 800 days

Police closed Sreejeev's death case as suicide, brother Sreejith believes he was killed

NEW DELHI: A man in Kerala, a southern state in India has ended his 782-day protest after the country's premier investigating agency Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) began investigating his brother's death.

S R Sreejith, who has been on strike in front of the secretariat chief minister's office in Thiruvananthapuram, ended his protest on Wednesday after being told the CBI has kicked off a probe into the death of his brother, S R Sreejeev.

Sreejeev was found dead on May 21, 2014.



While police closed the case of Sreejeev's death as a suicide, Sreejith believes his brother was killed in police custody.

"I stopped the strike for the time being as the CBI officials promised a fair probe into my brother's custodial death," Sreejith said. "I also need to restore my health to give detailed statements to the CBI team and as much evidence as I can."

The investigators from CBI recorded statements of Sreejith and his mother, following which he ended his strike.

Sreejith reportedly told CBI that the suicide note produced by the police to support their claim was not that of Sreejeev.

The 26-year-old Sreejeev was taken into police custody at Parassala on May 19, 2014 in connection with a theft of a mobile phone and he died two days later, on May 21.

Police stated he was taken into custody on charges of theft of the mobile phone and he consumed poison inside police custody. However, Sreejeev's family maintains he was severely tortured.

The family alleged he was detained for being in a relationship with a girl, who happened to be related to one of the police officers.



With police investigation concluding and no evidence of custodial torture, Sreejith was prompted to insist on a CBI probe and subsequently go for a strike.

Sreejith sat on a protest in front of the secretariat braving vagaries of weather and demanding an independent inquiry into his brother's death.

As the strike continued for over two years, his persistence got him massive public support, which went manifold on social media, following which lawmakers pressed the federal government for a CBI probe.