Dalit woman alleges custodial harassment in police station; Accuses CMO of inaction

Thiruvananthapuram | A 39-year-old Dalit woman has made serious allegations against the police and the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), citing a theft case registered against her that was later proven to be false.

R Bindhu, a local domestic help, alleged that she had to suffer acute mental torture and harassment in the custody of police in Peroorkada station here last month after the owner of the house, where she was working, lodged a complaint that she had stolen their gold chain.

While revealing her harrowing experience to the television channels here on Monday, the woman said that though she handed over a complaint in this regard to CM's political secretary P Sasi with the help of a lawyer, he didn't even bother to read it and asked her to approach the court.

Following the Dalit woman's allegations, the opposition Congress intensely criticised the CMO and demanded stern action against the errant police officers at Peroorkkada station.

According to Bindhu, she received a phone call from the Peroorkkada Station on April 23 evening asking her to reach there at the earliest.

At the station, the owner of the house and her daughter were present, and police told Bindhu that their chain was missing and asked her to give it back.

"I told them a thousand times that I didn't steal the chain, but they didn't trust me. A woman police officer took me to a room and removed my top and examined me. I was then taken to my house, where they searched. I was not allowed to talk to my family even over the phone," the woman alleged.

Bindhu said an FIR was lodged against her, and she was kept at the station the whole night, and they even questioned her in the early hours of the next day.

"I was not given food or water... not allowed to sleep. When I asked for drinking water, a police officer told me to go to the toilet and drink. They continuously used objectionable language and even threatened to implicate my teenage daughters in a police case if I did not confess to the theft," the weeping woman further charged.

She said the next morning, the house owner and her daughter were seen rushing to the police station again and held talks with the circle inspector for some time.

"They later told me that they were giving forgiveness to me. Police also told me that I could go home, as the house owner had no complaint. But a policeman later told my husband that the house owner found the missing gold chain from their house itself," Bindhu added.

Besides the CMO, Bindhu lodged a complaint with the state DGP and the state SC/ ST Commission seeking action against the police personnel for their alleged inhuman custodial treatment.

"I went to Secretariat and handed over a complaint to a sir at the chief minister's office. My advocate told me that he was P Sasi, the CM's political secretary. He didn't read the complaint...just put it there," she said.

The Dalit woman further said Sasi told her that the house owner would naturally give a complaint if their chain was missing, and police would act.

"He told me that all these matters should be said in court," she told the media.

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan demanded a departmental enquiry and stern action against the errant police officers of the Peroorkkada station for mentally torturing the Dalit woman for over 20 hours over a false case.

In a statement, Satheesan said the CM and the Home Department could not justify the incident as an isolated issue.

Senior Congress leader and former Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan termed the incident as "inhuman" and said the progressive society cannot accept this at any cost.

"Stringent action should be taken against the injustice and harassment suffered by the Dalit woman," he told the media on Monday.

Congress sources said KPCC Chief Sunny Joseph would visit Bindhu's house in Chullimanoor here later in the day.

The Chief Minister's Office, however, rejected the allegations, stating that the Political Secretary had received her complaint and immediately directed the police to take action.