Custodial torture: Cong leader Satheesan seeks dismissal of policemen from service

Kochi, Sep 7 (PTI) Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan on Sunday said the policemen involved in the 2023 custodial torture of Congress local leader in Thrissur district should be dismissed from service.

The CCTV footage from the police station surfaced after V S Sujith, who was assaulted at the Kunnamkulam police station, obtained it through the Right to Information (RTI) Act recently.

"The action of suspension of the policemen involved is not enough. They have no right to continue in service and the Congress will continue to fight till they are dismissed," Satheesan told reporters here.

He said such "criminal elements" who brutally assaulted an innocent person in custody should not be allowed to continue in service.

Satheesan alleged that a "caucus" in the chief minister’s office was controlling the state police force.

"The director general of police (DGP) has no control over district superintendents (SP) of police and the SPs have no control over station house officers," he alleged.

He also mentioned the latest CCTV footage of a custodial torture at Peechi police station assaulting restaurant employees which surfaced on Sunday.

The footage was released by Thrissur-based businessmsn K P Ouseph, the managing director of Laly's Group, whose employees were allegedly assaulted inside Peechi police station on May 24, 2023.

On Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan’s comment that the opposition leader was taking rehearsal for becoming chief minister, Satheesan said he would not comment on every remark of Natesan.

Satheesan said his duty was to bring back the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) to power and the rest will be decided by the Congress high command.

The LoP said everyone knows who Natesan is speaking for. "He insulted Muslims in Malappuram district and Christians in Kottayam through his speeches. The same person was praised for upholding principles of Sree Narayana Guru by the chief minister." Asked about former KPCC president K Sudhakaran criticising his attendance at the Onam feast hosted by the chief minister, he said Sudhakaran is a senior leader and he has the freedom to point out mistakes. "I have no complaints," he said.

Satheesan alleged that the CPI(M) media handles were hiring YouTube channels to launch a vicious attack on him.

"I will not budge an inch from my conscientious stance on issues even if a sea of attacks come against me," he said. PTI MVG MVG KH