Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], May 19 (ANI): A sub-inspector at the Peroorkada Police Station in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram has been suspended pending an inquiry after a Dalit domestic worker accused him of false implication in a theft case and mental harassment, officials said on Monday.
Sub-inspector Prasad was suspended following allegations made by the woman, identified as R Bindhu, who claimed that she was falsely accused of theft and harassed while in police custody. Bindhu lodged formal complaints with the Chief Minister, the State Police Chief, and the State SC/ST Commission, detailing her ordeal.
Bindhu, a resident of Thiruvananthapuram, was summoned to the station on April 23 after her employer reported the disappearance of 2.5 sovereigns of gold from their residence. She alleged that she was detained for nearly 20 hours and coerced into confessing to the theft, with threats to implicate her daughters and husband.
“I worked at that house for three days till April 19 and planned to resume work the following week when this happened. I went to the station, and my employer was there. The sub-inspector accused me of taking the missing gold. A woman officer searched my body and bag but found nothing. Despite this, they filed an FIR against me, but later discovered the missing gold at the employer’s house itself,” Bindhu stated.
She also recounted being mistreated by police officers, one of whom allegedly threatened to implicate her family and told her to drink water from a bucket kept in the bathroom when she asked for water.
Following the incident, VD Satheesan, Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, condemned the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government. “Even after the complaint was withdrawn, an FIR was filed against the woman, and she was threatened. If Pinarayi Vijayan continues as the Chief Minister, will water from the toilet be given to those who come to the police station? Is keeping a woman in the police station all night justice for this government?” he questioned. (ANI)
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