Adakka Raju stood firm to lay down what he saw on that fateful day after all these years, despite having been subjected to most “inhuman torture” by investigative agencies, the court said.
Adakka Raju was an ordinary man, a man who scaled the walls of the convent of St. Pius X in Kottayam 28 years ago for a petty theft. But on that unfortunate day that Sister Abhaya, a 21-year-old nun, was killed at the convent, he turned out to be an extraordinary man, who was going to beat a sea of odds to stand his ground as the key witness in the case, having been direct witness of the first defendant at the crime scene. And that is why Malayalis took Adakka Raju to heart, when she reacted with glee to the media, saying that her “daughter finally got justice”, after a court in Thiruvanathapuram declared the accused priest and nun guilty of the crime the Tuesday.
But there is more to the man than meets the eye, the court indicates in its nearly 300-page sentence. Raju stood firm to depose what he saw on that fateful day after all these years, despite having been subjected to the most “inhumane torture” by investigating agencies, who forced him to confess to a crime he never committed, said the court.
It was Raju who saw Father Thomas M Kottoor (the convict) along with Father José Poothrikkayil (who was previously discharged from the case) on the terrace of the convent in the early morning of March 27, 1992, the day Abhaya was murdered. after he discovered Sister Sephy, another nun from the convent, and the other two priests in a compromised position. Raju had said that he saw two people standing on the terrace of the convent, looking around with a lit torch in the early hours of the morning. “I know Kottoor achan (priest),” Raju had told the court.
But being a witness in the case was not an easy journey for Raju, who was initially coerced into accepting the crime, the court states in its ruling. It reveals how strategically the Crimes Division moved in the case to help the actual defendants evade the case.
For 58 days, Raju was in the custody of the Crime Section in Kottayam, where he was “subjected to inhuman torture to obtain a confession to the effect that he had committed the murder of Mr. Abhaya,” Judge K Sanilkumar said in the judgment. He was later lured in by offering him great financial rewards, a job for his wife, a promise to cover his children’s educational expenses, and even a promise to build a house. But Raju, who came from a very humble background and was in great need of all this, boldly and blatantly ignored him.
“He could have been a thief, but he was and is an honest man, a simple person without the need to pretend, a human being who became a professional thief by force of circumstances, but a speaker of the truth, nonetheless, ”The court said praising Raju’s courage.
In its ruling, the court has also revealed how the Crimes Section had moved categorically against Raju, charging him in 40 other bogus criminal cases, as a measure to pressure him to change his statements, after he ignored the ‘offers’.
Read: Nail marks, head injury, statements from former thieves’: what the Abhaya case trial says
Investigative officers even tortured many others associated with Raju, to extract a false statement that falsely implicated him in the murder. The prosecution witness Shameer (PW8), to whom Raju used to sell the small items he stole, was one of them. Shameer and his brother were brutally beaten by officers, the court says.
“Shameer was tortured by the police for two days and his brother was tortured for six days in custody. The then Deputy Superintendent of Police (Crimes Section) IC Thampan repeatedly beat his brother saying that he should say that Adakka Raju committed the murder of sister Abhaya, ”he says.
In showing the Crime Branch’s planned move, the court declares that Shameer’s brother who fell unconscious after being attacked, was taken to the General Hospital in Kottayam for treatment under someone else’s name. These activities were carried out by the police at the behest of Police Superintendent KT Michael, the court observes.
Following this, investigating officers placed false evidence to implicate Raju in another 40 criminal cases. According to the ruling, KT Michael SP forced Shameer’s father to buy 20 water meters and 20 kg of copper, which was planted as evidence against Raju. Later, Raju was convicted in two cases, the court says, but was acquitted in others because witnesses did not recognize the evidence.
It is worth noting repeatedly how Raju continued to defend the truth throughout all these years, even as many other crucial witnesses changed their statements in support of the accused. The court even said that Raju’s unwavering statement was sufficient to “establish beyond any doubt that A1 (P. Kottoor) was present at the convent” on the night of the murder.
Since the past two days, Adakka Raju, the ‘good thief’ has gone viral on social media and has now become a household name in Kerala, all for good reason.
Watch video: Raju reacting to the media
Read:
Mr Abhaya case: Praise for Adakka Raju, a witness who stuck to his statement
Sister Abhaya Murder Case: Is Justice Really Served?
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