Nedumkandam: The police force in Kerala seems hell-bent on getting more infamy with regular episodes of human rights violations. Another allegation of torture by the Kerala Police has emerged. And that too from the same Nedumkandan police station in Kerala's Idukki district where a prisoner named Kumar was subjected to custodial torture that proved fatal.
Nearly a fortnight after Kumar's death, a 31-year-old man who was taken into custody over domestic violence has claimed he was subjected to brutal assault at the Nedumkandam police station. The latest to point fingers at the cops of this station even witnessed the brutal assault on Kumar.
Considering the gravity of the crimes attributed to cops, Kerala Police chief Loknath Behera has now asked the state government to bring in an amendment in the laws to terminate officers, who are accused in serious cases such as custody torture, within 30 days.
The complainant auto driver Hakeem of Mundiyeruma in Idukki district says he was taken into custody on June 15 and was brutally assaulted.
Hakeem said he can identify the cops who assaulted him, though he does not know their name.
He claimed such was the intensity of the assault, a part of the prison grill was damaged. The police then summoned Hakeem's mother and got it repaired at her expense.
Hakeem said he was summoned to the police station around 8 pm on June 15, six days before Kumar's death, after a complaint that he assaulted his wife. The police rounded him up and allegedly hurled him into the cell. He was taken to the Nedumkandam taluk hospital for medical check-up and was subjected to further assault after he was brought back to the station. The cops allegedly stomped on his stomach, and the assault continued into the night and the next day.
The CCTV camera was masked to prevent the assault visuals from getting recorded, it is said. Unable to suffer the torture, Hakeem said he held on to the prison grill. As the assault continued, the grill was damaged. Though he asked for water, it was denied, as had happened with Kumar too as he was tortured.
The police reportedly threatened Hakeem's mother Sulfath over the phone that they would slap non-bailable offences on him if she did not give Rs 4,000 to repair the prison grill. Sulfath then reached the station with a welding worker and got it repaired for Rs 700.
Mother witnessed assault
Sulfath said that when she reached the police station on June 16 morning, Hakeem was lying in the cell in a miserable state. "They had not given him food or water. He was even assaulted in front of me. I pleaded not to assault him as he was suffering from pressure and diabetes. However, they mocked me by saying that 'once at the station, pressure/sugar would all get rectified on its own'," she said.
Hakeem was presented in court and remanded the next day. He got bail only on June 17. As he was suffering from intense body pain and fatigue, he sought treatment at the Nedumkandam taluk hospital and was then shifted to a private hospital.
Hakeem and Sulfath said that they would submit a complaint to the Chief Minister.
Cops deny allegations
However, Nedumkandam SI S Kiran denied that Hakeem was assaulted and that there were CCTV visuals to prove this. He also pointed out that Hakeem did not raise any complaint when he was presented before the magistrate after the medical check-up.
'Heard Kumar's wails'
Hakeem had to put up with the ordeal around the same time Kumar was being tortured in the same station.
After the police tortured me they assaulted Kumar, Hakeem said.
"I heard screams from the first floor room several times in the night. When he was taken out once, I saw his face. He was in a worn-out state. I realised it was Kumar after I saw his photo in the newspaper when out on bail," Hakeem said.
CM’s warning remains on paper
Thodupuzha: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's stern warning that police officers, who resorted to the use of brute force, would be terminated, does not seem to have much of an impact. Even 12 days after Kumar was killed, no case has been filed against the erring officers. The only action taken was the suspension of eight officers and the transfer of five cops. Most of the accused officers have given leave request.
