Thiruvananthapuram Commissioner seeks report on Dalit woman's police brutality allegations

Trivandrum Commissioner sought an immediate report on the mental harassment of a Dalit woman, Bindu, held in Peroorkada police custody for 20 hours.

Trivandrum: The Trivandrum Commissioner has sought an immediate report on the mental harassment of a Dalit woman, Bindu, held in Peroorkada police custody for 20 hours. The Assistant Commissioner has been directed to conduct an internal inquiry. There is an assessment of serious police misconduct. Bindu had worked at the house for only three days. Despite the homeowner informing the police about the recovered necklace in the morning, Bindu was released from the station only after 11 am. The Assistant Commissioner has visited Bindu's home and recorded her statement. The report is expected today, and the Commissioner is likely to order immediate action based on the findings.

Bindu told Asianet News that the Peroorkada police brutally harassed her over a false theft accusation. She was subjected to hours of interrogation for a theft she didn't commit and was verbally abused when she denied the allegations. Officer Prasannan was identified as the primary perpetrator of the harassment. When Bindu asked for water, he told her to drink from the bathroom tap. She was interrogated throughout the night without being given water. Bindu also alleged that the police threatened to implicate her daughters in the case and that her ethnicity and caste were the reasons for the brutal treatment.

She also said that she faced apathy when she went to the Chief Minister's office to file a complaint against being falsely accused in a theft case. She said that the Chief Minister's office didn't even read her complaint. The Chief Minister's political secretary, P Sasi, simply put the complaint on the table, she alleged.