Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Police has recently faced severe criticism after a Dalit woman lodged a complaint alleging harassment by police officers. Interestingly, this incident strikingly mirrors a case of injustice from over four decades ago involving a woman in the state.

In 1983, a woman from Thiruvananthapuram faced a similar ordeal. While the current case involves Bindu being accused of stealing a necklace, back then, a woman named Sukumari was suspected of stealing “karnabharanam” (ear ornament).

The ordeal that made headlines in 1983

Back then, Mathrubhumi published Sukumari’s story in an article titled “The Heartbreaking Story of a Missing Karnabharanam.” After a prolonged struggle, she was eventually proven innocent, following court intervention and support from the then Chief Minister, K. Karunakaran.

On June 29, 1983, Sukumari, who lived in Thamalam, visited Kariyam LP School to collect the Transfer Certificate (TC) of her 7-year-old son Murali. But instead of receiving the certificate, she was met with suspicion from the school’s headmistress, who noticed the shining earrings Sukumari was wearing.

The teachers accused Sukumari of wearing earrings that allegedly belonged to a student who had recently lost hers. When the student was called in and asked to verify, she said that the earrings looked like hers. The school staff then ganged up and publicly questioned Sukumari.

They forcibly removed the earrings from Sukumari’s ears. Soon, the police arrived and arrested her. She was booked under charges of trespassing into the Medical College compound for immoral activities. Humiliated, she spent the night in a rescue home, where she faced taunts and ridicule from others. The next day, she was produced in court and fined for alleged immoral conduct.

Refusing to accept the false charge, Sukumari filed a private petition against the fabricated case. She met with the then Chief Minister K Karunakaran and personally explained her ordeal. Following an official investigation, it was proven that the earrings indeed belonged to Sukumari and that she was innocent.

A photo of Sukumari smiling, wearing her earrings, was published in Mathrubhumi with the headline: “Sukumari gets back her Karnabharanam.”

What happened to Sukumari and her family?

Sukumari and her husband Velukkutty passed away many years ago. Their son Murali is no longer alive either. Once an auto driver, Murali lost both his legs due to illness and passed away three years ago. Reports suggest his sister Shobha now lives in the Malayam region in Thiruvananthapuram.