Even amid tight surveillance by the police with hundreds of closed-circuit television cameras installed, the city witnessed no fewer than 15 cases of groping of women and girls during the 55th Kerala State School Arts Festival.
The accused in the cases included both teenagers and middle-aged men. They were caught by policemen in mufti at the main festival venue at Malabar Christian College.
Though none of the victims filed written complaints, the police acted suo motu against the accused. All the 15 incidents occurred in front of television channel kiosks where people thronged to see live news presentations.
G. Gopakumar, sub-inspector at the Nadakkavu police station, said all the accused were caught red-handed and charged with the offence. “There were inebriated men too among those who assaulted the women,” he said.
During the proclamation rally too, there was an incident in which a woman people’s representative was groped by a man, who was later caught by the police. He too was drunk. The police later let him off on bail as the woman did not file any written complaint.
Addressing a long-pending complaint that the police do not issue receipts for complaints received in file, the State Police Chief has issued a fresh directive to all senior police officers asking them to make use of the already operational Internal Administrative Processing System (IAPS) to issue on-the-spot receipt to complainants.
The order makes it clear that complaints processed manually with numbers written on the acknowledgment slips will no more be a valid document or receipt for further legal proceedings. Only those complaints registered through the link provided on the IAPS portal will be valid, and the police officers concerned will have to ensure this service free to all citizens.
The circular issued by the State Police Chief says the case number issued through the IAPS will be unique and valid across the State for any future reference from anywhere. People can also get details of the case status from the information and communication technology-enabled police kiosks and front desks. District Police Chiefs have been directed to ensure sufficient number of front desks under their control.