The treatment of a Dalit woman in police custody over what turned out to be a false case of theft last month has triggered widespread protests in Kerala after the woman recounted her ordeal to the media on Monday.
Following the protests, a sub-inspector was suspended over lapses in taking the woman into custody without conducting any preliminary inquiry.
The Thiruvananthapuram city police had on April 23 registered a case pertaining to “theft” of 18 grams of gold from a house where the woman worked as a domestic help. On the same evening, she was summoned to the police station, where she said she was examined by a policewoman to see if she had concealed the stolen item in her body.
“I pleaded with police that I had not stolen the chain and the pendant. After the police could not recover anything from me, they took me to a house for a search. I was then taken back to the police station, where I was forced to remain an entire night. I wasn’t given food or water and was not allowed to sleep. When I sought drinking water, they told me to get it from the toilet,” she said.
The case took a turn the next day when the complainant informed police that the “stolen gold” was found misplaced at their home. After this, the woman was released from police custody.
She later submitted separate complaints with the Chief Minister’s political secretary, P Sasi, the state’s police chief and the SC/ST Commission. Within a few days, an Assistant Commissioner of Police recorded her statement and promised action.
With this promised action now allegedly delayed, she told reporters on Monday about the ordeal that she went through. Subsequently, city police suspended Inspector S G Prasad for lapses in taking the woman into custody without a preliminary probe.
Opposition leader V D Satheesan of the Congress alleged that the incident exposed the government’s lack of concern for the weaker sections of society. “The government has no right to celebrate its fourth anniversary. The trauma of the Dalit woman showed that women’s safety is a hollow promise,” he said.
