KOCHI: Amid mounting pressure for accountability, the Kerala High Court modified its probe directive in the Suraj Lama case, appointing a DIG to lead the SIT, superseding the prior Police Commissioner stipulation.
Justices Devan Ramachandran and M.B. Snehaltha approved the government’s plea during Monday’s session, tweaking the February 11 order to ensure robust investigation momentum.
The saga of Suraj Lama, a Kuwait-deported Indian, unfolded tragically at Kochi airport. Frail and cognitively impaired, he slipped through unchecked, vanishing post-immigration. Days later, Kalamassery yielded his body, forensics sealing the grim confirmation.
The court voiced alarm over deportee management, probing if guidelines exist for aiding distressed arrivals. This vulnerability, it argued, warranted intervention that was glaringly absent.
Even with identity ascertained, the habeas corpus writ persists. The SIT’s mandate: chronicle the timeline from arrival to death, keeping homicide theories alive.
This shift to DIG command promises deeper scrutiny, potentially exposing negligence chains from airport staff to local responders. As investigations proceed, the nation watches for justice in a case symbolizing bureaucratic blind spots.