Kunnamkulam custodial torture: Four police personnel suspended

Four police personnel involved in the Kunnamkulam custodial torture case have been suspended from service .

SI Nuhman, CPOs Sasidharan, KJ Sajeevan and S Sandeep have been suspended from service and an order in this regard has been issued on Saturday . A departmental re-investigation has also been ordered against them.

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Earlier, the Thrissur Range Deputy Inspector General (DIG )has recommended the suspension of four police officers accused in the custodial torture of Youth Congress Chovvannur block president VS Sujith at Kunnamkulam police station in 2023.

Thrissur range DIG Hari Shankar has recommended the suspension of four police personnel- SI Nuhman, , Civil Police Officers s Sasidharan, KJ Sajeevan and S Sandeep, who were involved in the custodial torture of Youth Congress leader VS Sujith at Kunnamkulam police station.The recommendation was made in a report submitted to North Zone Inspector General of Police IRaj Pal Meena.

The DIG, in his report, has recommended severe punishment for the erring officers, especially since the court has registered a criminal case against them..Kerala police chief.

Rawada Chandrashekhar had already clarified that stringent action will be taken against police personnel who have involved in the alleged torture at the Kunnamkulam police station Zuhair, the driver of the police jeep,also assaulted him No action was taken against Zuhair. All, the All 5 cops , who brutally tortured him should be dismissed from service, Sujith said.

Meanwhile, Congress workers on Saturday took out a protest march to the house of , Sashidharan a police official, who allegedly tortured Youth Congress leader V S Sujith at Kunnamkulam police station in 2023, police said.

Around 50 protesters took part in the march to the house of Sashidharan. Police blocked the protesters midway before they could reach the house of Sashidharan .

Some of the Congress workers participated in the march suffered injuries when they attempted to climb over the temporary barricade installed by the police

Meanwhile,former KPCC president K Sudhakaran criticized the opposition leader VD Satheesan for having Onam Sadhya with the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan , on the day the footage of the Youth Congress leader being tortured in police custody at Kunnamkulam police station came out.

Sudhakaran said that if it were him, he would not have done so. On that day, K Sudhakaran had called Sujith on a video call and expressed his support. This was followed by some leaders praising Sudhakaran as true leader and posted posts criticizing SatheesanHowever, Satheesan’s supporters claim that the CCTV footage of the custodial torture came out while he was participating in the Onam celebrations.

A disturbing police surveillance camera footage of the brutalisation of a Youth Congress worker at the Kunnumkulam police station in Thrissur in 2023 has sparked widespread shock and public outrage in Keralahe terrifying video also reignited an emotional social debate on alleged law enforcement brutality, which the Opposition sought to weaponise against the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government.

The footage shows BS Sujith, Chovannur Youth Congress block president, being dragged shirtless into the Kunnamkulam police station under Thrissur city police limits on April 5, 2023. Once inside, four policemen led by then Sub-Inspector Nuhman at the Kunnamkulam police station can be seen slapping and thrashing him as he cried in pain.

The assault resulted in serious injuries to the victim, including hearing damage in one ear. According to reports, Sujith had intervened when police threatened his friends standing by the roadside, prompting the officers to take him to the station in a jeep, where he was further assaulted.

Despite police claims that Sujith was intoxicated, and that he obstructed officers, a medical examination confirmed he was sober. A court subsequently granted him bail, and a subsequent medical report revealed the extent of his injuries.

It took two years of legal battle for Youth Congress leader V S Sujith to obtain the CCTV footage that exposed the custodial torture he suffered at the Kunnamkulam station.

Kerala Police employed mployed numerous tactics to withhold the visuals. Sujith said that despite multiple requests, the police denied him the CCTV visuals. He got the footage only after repeated complaints to the Information Commissioner under the Right to Information Act.