THIRUVANANTHAPURAM/THRISSUR: Four officers involved in the custodial torture of a Youth Congress leader at the Kunnamkulam police station have been suspended. The CCTV footage of the assault on YC Chovannur mandalam president V S Sujith in 2023 surfaced recently, triggering public outrage against the force.
A statement from the State Police Headquarters on Saturday said four officers — Nuhman, sub-inspector of Viyyur police station; Sandeep S, civil police officer at Mannuthy police station, and Sasidharan and Sajeevan K J, civil police officers at Thrissur Town East station — have been placed under suspension. The order was issued by North Zone IG Rajpal Meena on the basis of a report submitted by Thrissur Range DIG.
Meanwhile, Sujith said the officers should be dismissed from service and there will not be any compromise in his fight against injustice. “Nothing less than their expulsion can serve justice, considering the ordeal I went through,” Sujith said.
He also sought exemplary punishment for the officers after registering a case against them.
Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan said the UDF will continue its protest until the officers are removed from service and legal action is taken against them. “The five officers involved in the incident are criminals. The suspension is a ploy by the government,” he told reporters.
Sujith was brutally assaulted by the officers on April 6, 2023, after taking him into custody. According to reports, Sujith had intervened when police threatened his friends standing by the roadside, prompting the officers to take him to the station, where he was assaulted. The assault resulted in serious injuries to the victim, including hearing damage in one ear.
Though complaints were lodged then, the officers didn’t face any stern action, except the withholding of their increment. It was after a long legal battle, invoking the RTI Act, that Sujith received the visuals of custodial torture from the police station.
“My family was shocked to see the visuals. I get emotional whenever I recall the incident. With the support of my leaders and party workers, I will go to any extent to ensure punishment for the cops,” he told TNIE.
‘Policemen involved should be dismissed’
Sujith has also decided to implead in the case registered suo motu in the Supreme Court over dysfunctional CCTV cameras in police stations.
Earlier in the day, senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala visited Sujith and extended all support to him and family. Chennithala sought termination of all the four officers from the service.
“The silence from the CM will prompt more such acts. Police stations are not concentration camps,” he said. “The functioning of the police department has now turned chaotic. Sujith is a suviving example of police raj under the Pinarayi government. The officers who assaulted
Sujith are not fit to continue in service. Suspension will not be enough. They should be terminated,” Chennithala said.
Dismissal sought
V S Sujith, who was assaulted at the Kunnamkulam police station, said the officers involved should be dismissed from service. He also sought exemplary punishment for the officers after registering case against them.