Four policemen suspended in Kunnamkulam custodial torture Case; Opposition demands dismissal

Thrissur (Kerala), Sep 6 (PTI) Four police officials, accused of torturing Youth Congress leader V S Sujith at the Kunnamkulam police station in the year 2023, were suspended from service on Saturday, police said.

The suspended officials are Nuhman, Sandeep S, Sasidharan, Sajeevan K J, who were currently serving in various police stations in this central Kerala district, they said.

Meanwhile, the opposition Congress claimed that action was not taken against one more police official involved in the custodial torture and demanded that all five should be dismissed from the service.

These officials were working at Kunnamkulam police station when Sujith was tortured in custody in 2023.

The suspension order was issued by North Zone Inspector General Rajpal Meena, based on a report submitted by Thrissur Range DIG Harishankar.

"Four police officials, who are under investigation in the case registered by the court, have been suspended. It was found that disciplinary action taken against them earlier should be reviewed," Harishankar told PTI.

Earlier, the annual increment of the officials had been withheld for two years.

"Now, we will consider further disciplinary action. Notices will be issued and the officers will be heard before initiating the next steps," he added.

Sujith was taken into custody on April 5, 2023, after he allegedly questioned police officers who threatened his friends on the roadside.

Later, he was allegedly tortured at the Kunnamkulam police station.

Sujith recently obtained CCTV footage of the incident after a two-year-long legal battle under the Right to Information Act. A magistrate court later registered a case directly against the officers.

Sujith, however, claimed that five policemen were involved in the custodial torture incident.

"A police driver, Suhail, was also involved. Suspension is not enough. We want all these officials to be dismissed. Our party has decided to initiate legal steps to ensure their removal from service," he said.

Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan termed the suspension a minor step.

"This decision should have been taken two years ago. Even after visuals of the inhuman assault came out, the government tried to shield the personnel.

For whose sake is the government still protecting the former police driver who assaulted Sujith?" he asked.

Satheesan demanded dismissal of all five accused officers and legal action against them, warning that the UDF would continue its protests until this was done.

Senior Congress leader K Sudhakaran described the custodial torture as an act of police persecution.

"The party has discussed it and taken several decisions. It has also been decided to pursue the matter legally. The party will go ahead with it," he added. PTI TBA ADB