Visual from the incident spot, the woman's advocate friend | Photo: Mathrubhumi news/ Screengrab
Kottayam: Police allegedly stopped a woman who was walking on the road, suspecting her to be an accused in a case. Officials also tried to get her inside the police jeep, claimed the complainant. A verbal argument broke out after the woman’s friend, an advocate, opposed the police action.
The woman, who is a native of Kumarakom, has filed a complaint with the district police chief regarding the issue. The incident took place near the Kottayam Collectorate at around 4:30 pm on Wednesday.
According to the complainant and her friend, a team of police officers in mufti stopped the woman while she was walking with the advocate and asked her if she was Sajini. Even after she said she was not the person they were looking for, police did not back out, they claimed. When the two women asked the officers what the matter was, they told her that they would explain things after reaching the station.
The officers allegedly showed a picture on their phones and asked them if it was the complainant. The woman and her friend told them it was not her, but they were asked to wait till the SI reached the spot.
Later, the complaint went with her advocate friend to the latter’s office. The advocate inquired about the matter at Kottayam East police station and officials at the station told her that they had not sent any team.
When they were walking back to the bus stop at Logos Junction from the advocate’s office, the officers allegedly came back in a jeep and asked the women to get inside. When the advocate and the people nearby tried to stop them from forcefully taking the woman, an argument broke out.
The complainant said that the officers belonged to the Gandhinagar police station. The advocate asked them to show their identity card, but they refused. The officers left the place after they understood she was not the person they were looking for, the advocate said.