Thrissur (Kerala) | The Congress on Thursday stepped up its demand for action against the police officers allegedly involved in the custodial torture of a Youth Congress leader in this Central Kerala district two years ago.
Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, sent a letter to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan urging him to dismiss the errant officials from service.
In his letter, Satheesan said CCTV footage showed Youth Congress Chovannur mandalam president V S Sujith being brutally beaten in police custody in 2023, leaving him with serious injuries, including loss of hearing.
Despite Supreme Court rulings against custodial torture, senior officers allegedly tried to protect those involved by omitting key names from the charge sheet and concealing reports, the Congress leader alleged.
"The incident came to light only after the footage was obtained through the Right to Information Act," Satheesan said, demanding that the officers be dismissed and that criminal action be taken against them.
Earlier in the day, senior Congress leaders met Sujith after CCTV footage surfaced on Wednesday showing him purportedly being assaulted by police officials inside Kunnamkulam police station.
Those who met Sujith included KPCC president Sunny Joseph, Chalakudy MP Benny Behnan, and Congress leader T N Prathapan.
Joseph also demanded the dismissal of the accused policemen.
"A criminal case should be registered against these officers. Sujith is not alone. Congress and the people of Kerala, who want proper law and order, are with him. The Chief Minister and the Home Department are siding with the accused," he said.
Sujith alleged that the accused policemen had even offered him Rs 20 lakh to settle the case.
"The CCTV footage was obtained only after a prolonged legal battle under the Right to Information Act. There were attempts to suppress the case, and only minor offences were charged. These officials are still in service, and no strict action has been taken against them," he said.
Meanwhile, Youth Congress workers in Malappuram carried out a protest march to the residence of Sub-Inspector Nuhman, one of the accused.
The march turned violent after protesters tried to climb over barricades erected by police, resulting in a lathi charge that left several injured.
Nuhman was not at his residence and is currently staying at the police quarters in Thrissur.
Speaking to reporters near Kochi, Satheesan said that the party would organise mass protests if the accused policemen were not punished.
"We will go to any extreme beyond what has been done so far by Congress. There is no compromise in this matter," he told reporters.
Satheesan rejected the statement of the Thrissur DIG of Police that action had already been taken.
"The so-called disciplinary measures were only to protect the accused policemen. The police are being controlled by a group in the Chief Minister’s office, and the DIG should not become the spokesperson of that group," he said.
