TENKASI: The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) on Monday imposed penalty of Rs 1 lakh and recommended disciplinary action against a woman inspector of Alangulam all women police station for mentally harassing a complainant and her daughter, who had filed a complaint in 2019 seeking the recovery of gold jewels worth Rs 1 crore from her doctor-husband.
The commission also made a recommendation to the state government to direct the Superintendent of Police of Tenkasi to conduct a fresh investigation to recover 881 grams of gold jewels from the woman’s husband.
In his complaint, P I Arul Lingam stated that he and his daughter A L Monica filed a complaint with the all women police station on September 19, 2019, demanding the recovery of jewellery.
“However, Roslin Saviyo, the then inspector, refused to register the complaint. After Lingam appealed to the then SP, the case was registered on September 29, 2019. The delay enabled her husband Dr T Vinothkumar’s family to conceal the jewellery. Saviyo further referred the case for inquiry by the Social Welfare Department (SWD) unnecessarily, causing further delay and mental agony,” Lingam alleged.
Saviyo denied the allegations and stated that Monica had given contradictory statements to the SWD. In his order, SHRC member V Kannadasan stated that his inquiry established that the inspector had colluded with Vinothkumar.
“This commission is of the considered view that Saviyo purposely delayed the registration of the FIR on the complaint. Moreover, the inordinate delay citing the COVID-19 pandemic is unbelievable. The respondent did not take steps to recover the jewels as sought in the complaint as well as in the Dowry Prohibition Officer’s report. Her negligent act caused severe mental agony to Lingam and his daughter, amounting to a violation of the human rights of the duo,” Kannadasan said.
According to Lingam, apart from gold jewellery, Dr Vinothkumar also received silver articles as dowry and Rs 10 lakh in cash for purchasing a flat for his sister, and later demanded Rs 20 lakh to be paid as penalty to the Tamil Nadu government for failing to serve in a rural area for two years after availing free postgraduate medical education in Government Medical College, Coimbatore.