While Gopalakrishnan claims he had explained Binish’s injuries to doctors at the Cherthala government hospital, the police say the case records mention only that he was brought in with fever and respiratory trouble. Binish was then referred to the Government Medical College at Vandanam, where too, his father said, he tried to tell doctors that the boy had been tortured. Binish’s discharge card, however, says he had been brought in complaining only of “fever, cough and breathlessness”.

IG Vinson M Paul, in-charge of the area, calls it a “mysterious” case that might need to be probed at length.Meanwhile, the 19-year-old stays confined inside his sparse home, too scared to venture out. He used to work in a local scooter workshop, Binish conveys through sign language, his eyes welling up, till the day the police caught him.