Custodial torture of Youth Congress leader: 4 Kerala cops suspended; Victim, UDF demand dismissal

Thrissur: Four police officials accused of torturing Youth Congress leader V S Sujith at the Kunnamkulam police station in 2023 have been suspended from service, police confirmed on Saturday.

The suspended officers are Nuhman, Sandeep S, Sasidharan and Sajeevan K J. They were currently serving in different police stations in Thrissur district. All were posted at Kunnamkulam station when the alleged custodial torture occurred.

The suspension order was issued by North Zone Inspector General Rajpal Meena, acting on a report submitted by Thrissur Range DIG Harishankar.

"Four police officials, who are under investigation in the case registered by the court, have been suspended. It was found that disciplinary action taken against them earlier should be reviewed," Harishankar said.

Earlier, their annual increment had been withheld for two years. "Now, we will consider further disciplinary action. Notices will be issued and the officers will be heard before initiating the next steps," he added.

Allegations of custodial torture

Sujith was taken into custody on April 5, 2023, after allegedly questioning police officers who threatened his friends on the roadside. He was then allegedly tortured at the Kunnamkulam station.

After a two-year legal battle under the Right to Information Act, Sujith obtained CCTV footage of the incident. A magistrate court subsequently registered a case directly against the officers.

Demand for dismissal of all five officials

Sujith maintained that five policemen were involved. "A police driver, Suhail, was also involved. Suspension is not enough. We want all these officials to be dismissed. Our party has decided to initiate legal steps to ensure their removal from service," he said.

Opposition reaction

Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan described the suspension as a minor step. "This decision should have been taken two years ago. Even after visuals of the inhuman assault came out, the government tried to shield the personnel. For whose sake is the government still protecting the former police driver who assaulted Sujith?" he asked.

Satheesan demanded dismissal of all five accused and warned that the UDF would continue protests until this was achieved.

Senior Congress leader K Sudhakaran called the custodial torture an act of police persecution. "The party has discussed it and taken several decisions. It has also been decided to pursue the matter legally. The party will go ahead with it," he said.