The Pettah police have recorded the arrest of Sukanth Suresh, the accused in the suicide of an Intelligence Bureau (IB) official on March 24.

He was also produced before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Thiruvananthapuram, for remand on Tuesday. The City police will submit an application seeking his custody for further interrogation.

Sukanth was absconding for two months until his surrender at the office of the Kochi Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), shortly after the Kerala High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea, on Monday.

The accused has been charged under Sections 63 (rape), 69 (sexual intercourse on the false promise of marriage), 75 (sexual harassment) and 108 (abetment of suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

IB had terminated Sukanth from service following the allegations levelled against him in connection with the death of his colleague. The victim’s body was found near a railway track in Pettah.

While dismissing his bail plea, the High Court observed that the accused had wielded considerable power over the deceased and also prompted her to transfer her entire salary from October 2024. The investigation also found that he repeatedly coerced her to take her life in order to get himself married to another woman. Such circumstances indicated that the accused’s relationship with her had some role in her taking the extreme step, the court noted.

Published – May 27, 2025 07:19 pm IST