POCSO court fire: Sreelal in prison for embezzling money; case registered against senior clerk 

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A case has been registered against senior clerk Sreelal (37) in the Kattakada fast-track POCSO court fire incident. Sreelal is in jail for embezzling the fine money, which was paid in court. Smoke was seen rising from the court building by nearby traders around 9 pm on July 13. The Kattakada Fire Department then brought the fire under control. The fire broke out in the room at the POCSO court where the crucial documents of cases were kept.

The Rural District Crime Branch took over the investigation. In an investigation focusing on the court employees, it was found that only the court clerk, Sreelal, was present in the court office and the room where the fire broke out on the day of the incident. The investigation team also found that Sreelal had incurred a debt of lakhs of rupees through online gaming and other activities. The judge had complained that Sreelal had forged documents and kept the one lakh rupees the court had received as fine without handing it over to the treasury. Sreelal was arrested and sent to jail following this complaint.

Thiruvananthapuram Rural District C-Branch Deputy Superintendent of Police K Vinukumar, who investigated the case, said that the police took Sreelal into custody and conducted an investigation, which resulted in more evidence being obtained regarding the fire in the court, and that Sreelal was made an accused based on that.