Kerala HC dismisses anticipatory bail plea of IB officer on the run in colleague's suicide case

Kochi, May 26 (IANS) The Kerala High Court on Monday dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Sukanth Suresh, alleged to have played a role in the suicide of his 24-year-old girlfriend and colleague.

Suresh has been on the run since March 24, when the woman official ended her life by jumping in front of a speeding train in the state capital, after completing her night duty at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport.

On Monday, the Court, while dismissing the anticipatory bail plea of Suresh, said that evidence produced so far indicates that he had emotionally, physically and monetarily used the deceased.

Incidentally, on May 22, when this petition came before the court, it pointed out that the bail application was filed on April 3, and it had been almost two months, and the police had not been able to trace him. The court said whether it meant that the police were not keen on his arrest, and it further asked if this lack of action was to be attributed to the fact that Suresh is an IB officer.

"How long can a person abscond like this in these modern times... and if he's working in the intelligence Bureau, does that protect him from arrest?" the court orally observed.

Last week, the family members of the deceased had called on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, expressing their concerns that the police have not arrested Suresh as yet.

The father later told the media that perhaps Suresh was not arrested because of his close links with the ruling party.

Incidentally, it was after the death of their daughter that her parents revealed that she was close to Suresh, who was working at the Cochin International Airport, and it was found out that she used to transfer her salary to him.

Soon after she was found dead and the police began their probe, it emerged that she was speaking to Suresh seconds before she jumped in front of the train.

Then, medical records have come out showing that the young woman had undergone an abortion last year, and the details have been provided to the police probe team by her father.

--IANS

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