PETALING JAYA, July 29 ― A Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officer who claimed he was being framed over the custodial death of N. Dhamendran has turned himself in to the police this morning.

According to media reports, Inspector Hare Krishnan Subramaniam surrendered to authorities at the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman at around10.30am, over a month after three colleagues were charged with Dhamendran’s murder.

Confirming Hare’s surrender, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the police officer will be charged tomorrow.

Last week, it was reported that Hare had lodged a police report on June 1 in which alleged he was being framed over the custodial death.

In it, Hare claimed he had been told to free Dhamendran temporarily on May 21, before learning that other officers had allegedly impersonated him to re-arrest the suspect.

Dhamendran died later that same day.

The inspector further alleged his details were appended without his express knowledge to the lockup entry for the day of Dhamendran’s death.

“All the entries of me in the lock-up diary are untrue and was done to implicate me and protect certain parties,” the report reads.

The police officer added that he had no part in “beating” Dhamendran but claimed to have knowledge of the guilty party.

Hare was implicated in the case when, on July 16, head of Kuala Lumpur CID Senior Asst Comm Datuk Ku Chin Wah said the police inspector had been put on administrative leave since June 15 in relation to the killing.

Dhamendran was detained on May 11 over a shooting in Bandar Tun Razak but died 10 days later while still held under remand by the KL police.

Ku had then claimed Dhamendran died due to “breathing difficulties”, before a Hospital Kuala Lumpur autopsy report publicised on June 1 showed that he had died due to a severe beating.

Including Dhamendran, nine deaths in police custody have occurred this year so far. The latest case is that of a 33-year-old Japanese man who died in his cell at the USJ8 police station lock-up on June 8.

Since 2006, the Bar Council and civil society have been pushing for the implementation of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) — which was mooted by a royal commission led by former Chief Justice Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah — but to no avail as it was shot down by the top brass of the police.