THRISSUR: Kodungallur resident Rijith K and his wife Swathy endured a disturbing experience at the Valappad police station last year. The reason: they had a quarrel with a motorcyclist after he swerved across the path of their vehicle without any signal. The rider, Biju, allegedly abused the couple who were proceeding to attend a family function. He later filed a complaint against Rijith as well.
The couple have sought CCTV footage of the events that unfolded at the police station on October 20 and 21 in 2024. Currently, the RTI application in that regard is under the consideration of the Information Commission. Rijith has also lodged a complaint with the Chief Minister’s office, seeking an intervention.
“After the quarrel on the road (on October 20), Biju even visited my extended family member’s house where the function was happening,” Rijith recalled.
“As I was busy with the function, he left after threatening me and asking me to meet him. I then went to his house but he was not there. I was then called to the Valapad police station. While I thought the police would have called me to settle the issue, only by midnight did I come to know that they had arrested me.”
The police slapped charges including Section 333 of IPC, he said.
“I was arrested based on Biju’s complaint. To counter the same, my wife too filed a complaint. But she had to wait till midnight to get a receipt for the complaint registered. On the next day, the then Valappad Inspector M K Ramesh came to the police station and grabbed me by the collar and hit me in front of all the people and the cops at the station,” Rijith said.
He said Valappad police refused to give him the visuals by saying that those pertaining to women and children cannot be provided under RTI.
“They wanted to hide it from us so that this custodial torture doesn’t come out. Though multiple complaints were raised with DysP, SP, and DIG, nothing fruitful happened even as the police officer who beat me climbs higher in rank,” Rijith alleged.
He recalled his entire family had to wait until midnight in front of the police station to know the reason for which he was called to the station.
“Instead of charging a case against Biju who threw abuses at us, I, who was travelling with family to attend a function, became an accused for no reason. What kind of service is this from responsible officers,” asks Rijith, who works as a manager at a toddy shop in Cherpu.
Thrissur-based Nerkazhcha, a human rights organisation, had also extended support to Rijith, seeking visuals from the Valappad police station of the events on October 20 and 21.