more-in The family members of Fasal Rahman, who drowned in the Iruvazhinji river last Saturday allegedly after being chased by the police, have held the Mukkom police responsible for his death. They have rejected the claim made by the police that the youth was illegally carting away sand and had jumped into the river in an attempt to evade arrest. The reluctance of the police to carry out an immediate search in the river ruined Fasal’s chances of being saved, the family said. Muslim Youth League and Youth Congress workers have alleged that the youth drowned as a result of the police action. The Welfare Party of India has sought an investigation into the role of the Mukkom Station House officer in the incident. According to the police, Fasal, along with two others, was trying to cart away sand from the riverbed. There had been no attempt to chase them as they had tried to flee the spot on seeing the police vehicle, said officers. The police said they had not carried out a late night search in the river, assuming that the youth had swum to safety. The following day, the investigation squad had visited his house to question him in the sand smuggling case, unaware that he had gone missing, they said. Soon after Fasal’s death was confirmed, a section of the anti-GAIL pipeline action committee members had come up with a claim that the police were responsible for his death and that the youth had been under the police scanner for his participation in recent protests at Mukkom and surrounding regions. However, his family members denied his involvement in the protests and dismissed the claims as baseless.

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