THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Yet another major lapse of the police in ensuring women’s safety in the capital city has come to light. Though the police were informed about the assault on a 49-year-old woman in the middle of a road at Vanchiyoor, they failed to act swiftly even after the victim’s daughter alerted the Pettah police immediately.
Instead of nabbing the attacker, the police insisted on the complainant appearing before officials at the station to record their statement. Incidentally, the police registered a case only after three days, that too after the deputy commissioner of police intervened. Following lapses, two police officers of Pettah station were suspended pending an inquiry by the DCP. The officers are Renjith and Jayaraj, both senior civil police officers.
The incident took place at 11 pm on March 13 at Moolavilakam Junction when the woman was returning home after buying medicines from a nearby shop. When she entered a narrow road, a bike-borne man attacked her on her neck, face, and chest. Though she resisted the attacker’s advances and beat him up, he managed to flee.
Later, she reached home and told her daughter about the incident. The daughter took her to the hospital and immediately informed the Pettah police about the attack. The GD in charge, who attended the phone call, told her to give her residential address for registering a complaint.
The daughter told police that she could not come to the station as she needed to take her injured mother to the hospital. Surprisingly, the police officer responded that her statement would be collected in an hour. As per the advisory of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, the police need to act immediately if a crime against women is reported. However, the woman and her daughter had to file a complaint with the DCP to get a case registered.
“If the police had acted immediately, the culprit could have been arrested. The police maintained a lackadaisical attitude even after getting an SOS call,” the woman told reporters here on Monday.
According to Ajith V, deputy commissioner of police, there was a serious lapse on the part of the officers. “Primarily, the suspended officers failed to notify their superiors about the victim's family’s phone call. When the officers reached the spot, the victim and her daughter were in the hospital. So they returned to the police station. Later, the police did not take any action as they did not receive any complaints,” he said. The police have registered the case under IPC Section 354 (Punishment for Outraging the Modesty of Women).
Meanwhile, P Sathidevi, chairperson, of Kerala Women’s Commission, defended the police stating that they could not register a case because they had not received a written complaint. She also visited the victim’s house on Monday. “The victim’s daughter had called the police over the phone to inform them about the incident.
The cops could not register a case based only on a call,” she said. However, she criticised the police for asking the victim to come to the police station to register a complaint. I have sought a report from the city police,” she said. The commission has registered a suo motu case.