Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Dalit youth alleges police harassment

Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A Dalit youth has moved the Judicial First Class Magistrate court here stating that he was illegally detained and manhandled at the Sreekariyam police station on March 18.

The complainant, R.K. Rajeev, 24, of Mavarathalakonam, has also accused the police of making defamatory comments on his caste status.

In a criminal miscellaneous petition filed before the court here, Rajeev alleged that he was detained at the police station without water and food for nearly 24 hours. He was pushed out of the police station at 12 noon on March 19. The court took cognisance of the complaint and instituted a single member commission to inspect police station records relevant to the complaint. The court is scheduled to hear the case again on March 24.

Mr. Rajeev's counsel M. Anil Kumar said the police had not observed the guidelines of arrest laid down by the Supreme Court.

Sub Inspector of Sreekariyam S.Y. Suresh Kumar said Rajeev was detained when the police were checking vehicles following a series of chain snatching incidents in the area. He said chain snatchers often used stolen vehicles or those without proper records for their operations. He said the accused was caught driving Yamaha motorbikes without licence or registration records two times in a span of 24 hours.

He said Rajeev was taken to the station to verify his background. He was allowed to call his relatives but nobody turned up. On the night of March 18, two politicians contacted the police and demanded that Rajeev be released.

The SI said he told the politicians that Rajeev would be released on bail from the station if they stood as sureties, but both refused. The SI said Rajeev was not immediately arrested because he was an educated man and the police wanted to give him a chance to prove the motorbikes were not stolen ones.

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