Congress intensifies protests over alleged police custodial torture and third-degree

Congress’ protests over “revelations” of custodial torture, including the belated emergence of at least two incriminating police surveillance videos of third-degree methods employed at station houses in 2023, appeared to intensify on Monday.

With the Assembly convening on September 15, the Congress seemed poised to weaponise the videos obtained by alleged victims via RTI to turn the tables on the ruling Left Democratic Front. The Congress has announced protest marches to police stations across the State on September 10.

Congress activists and the police clashed in front of the Secretariat, resulting in water cannon charges, arrests, and injuries on both sides.

In Palakkad, Congress workers and the police clashed in front of the office of the District Police Chief, demanding the dismissal of four police officers caught on camera brutalising Youth Congress Chuvannor mandalam president V.S. Sujith at the Kunnamkulam police station in Thrissur in 2023. 

The Congress also sought to weaponise the video showing a station house officer slapping a hotel owner and his son at the Peechi police station in Thrissur in 2023 for allegedly misbehaving with a customer. The hotel owner also released the video of him purportedly paying the complainant several wads of currency to withdraw the case, allegedly at the instance of the police.

Inspector General of Police for South Zone Shyam Sundar told The Hindu that the department had taken a serious view of the violation and issued a showcause notice to the then Peechi Sub-Inspector P.V. Ratheesh.

Mr. Ratheesh, who is presently serving as Circle Inspector at the Kadavanthara police station in Ernakulam, also faced the ire of the Congress.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] pushed back, citing the case of former Pathanamthitta district secretary of the Students’ Federation of India Jayakrishnan Thannithode under the United Democratic Front government’s watch in 2015.

CPI(M) State secretariat member M.V. Jayarajan told reporters in Kannur that the Congress was unleashing street violence to distract public attention from problems plaguing the party, including accusations of sexual misconduct against party legislators and allegations of misutilisation of funds collected for Wayanad rehabilitation.

Mr. Jayarajan claimed that custodial deaths and third-degree at station houses were one-off incidents since the LDF assumed power in 2016. The government would bring to book errant officers who violated the ruling front’s people-friendly and humane policing line.