THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The recording of the statement of the dalit woman, who was allegedly mentally harassed in Peroorkada police station, by crime branch (CB) will be delayed after the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) stipulated that a woman lawyer deputed by the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) should be present during the proceedings.
Following this, Crime Branch DySP K A Vidyadharan has written to the secretary of Thiruvananthapuram DLSA urging a speedy appointment of a woman lawyer.
Crime Branch Pathanamthitta DySP was given the investigation charge on the SHRC directive as the commission wanted an officer from outside the district to probe the case, which is sensational and involves serving police officers.
Sources said SHRC directed the police to ensure the presence of a female lawyer to assist the victim, Bindu R, and to ensure that the proceedings are in line with the law.
Meanwhile, sources said after the woman's statement is recorded, the officer will verify the documents from Peroorkada station to assess whether more police personnel were involved in the case.
The attested copies of documents, including sentry report, will be sought from the station and they will be verified.
These documents, it's expected, would reveal to what extent the cops misused laws to mentally harass the woman, who worked as a domestic worker, while she was illegally detained in the station.
Bindu was kept in illegal custody and mentally harassed for nearly 20 hours on April 23 after being accused of theft by her employer, Omana Davis.
The complaint, which alleged that an 18g gold chain had gone missing, later turned out to be baseless. Two officers from the Peroorkada station -- SI S G Prasad and ASI Prasanna Kumar -- have already been suspended for their involvement in the incident.
Prasanna, who was in charge of maintaining the station's general diary (GD), allegedly aided in the illegal detention, made casteist remarks and told Bindu to consume water from the toilet when she requested drinking water. Prasad's suspension was based on an adverse report filed by the special branch assistant commissioner, who had probed the incident.
Though an FIR was registered, she was later released after the complainant admitted that the ornaments were found at home.
Later, Bindu approached the chief minister's office but faced setback as his political secretary P Sasi allegedly dismissed her complaint.
The issue gained momentum after public outcry, prompting Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to call the incident 'unacceptable'.
