KOCHI: The Kerala Women’s Commission says it has received several complaints regarding the inaction by police officers on dowry and domestic violence complaints. “The inaction of the police officer related to dowry leading to the death of a law student has been taken as a serious issue. A letter addressing the lapse on the part of the police officer while dealing with dowry harassment complaint and allegedly insulting and harassing the victim instead of taking immediate action has been submitted to the DGP and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
According to the guidelines of the Supreme Court, care should be taken upon receiving dowry and domestic violence complaints and cases should be registered after proper counselling. However, in this particular case, no such steps were taken by the officer of the local police station which led to the victim ending her life,” said Shiji Sivaji, a member of the state women’s commission. The commission has requested the authorities to give proper instructions to all the station house officers while dealing with cases related to domestic violence.
“Recently, another incident related to the inaction of the police officer over dowry and domestic violence complaints in Palakkad was brought to our notice. On the victim’s request, the case has been directly sent to the Superintendent of Police for immediate action,” says Shiji.
There are women protection officers present in the respective districts to deal with domestic violence and dowry-related cases. “When the cases are reported, we ask the complainant if they want reconciliation or proceed with legal measures. If they want to, a Domestic Incident Report is prepared. It is forwarded to the magistrate court and support is given by the district legal services authority,” said a women protection officer.
“Most of the domestic violence cases reported are either related to dowry or alcohol consumption. Earlier, many complainants and their parents were reluctant to file cases. However, now many are coming forward. We have been getting complaints from victims even during late hours related to dowry and domestic violence issues,” said Sabeena Beegam S, Thiruvananthapuram district Women and Child development officer.