A few policemen in the Thumba police station are now learning the law the hard way.
That it took the death of a man for people responsible for enforcing the law to learn it is another matter.
It was a normal complaint, over the alleged loss of a gold chain, which led to Shaji Elias and his friend Noushad being summoned to the Thumba police station early last week.
However, the sub-inspector and two civil police officers there decided to handle matters in their own way, and as per an internal inquiry report, detained the two suspects unlawfully.
Attempted suicide
Shaji allegedly attempted suicide in the station bathroom after nearly 40 hours of unlawful detention, and died later at the Thiruvananthapuram medical college hospital.
The incident, which triggered a public protest over the manner in which policemen in the particular station were treating the public, with similar instances of suicides by people who were summoned to the police station or arraigned as accused there last year being cited, also triggered a number of inquiries.
The report from Jawahar Janardh, Assistant Commissioner, Shangumugham, indicated that some of the allegations from the public could be true, with the report stating that the policemen were at fault and that they were ‘negligent of the law,’ which was why they detained the suspects unlawfully.
City Police Commissioner H. Venkatesh has initiated action against the policemen, transferring them and attaching them to the Commissioner’s office with immediate effect. Chances of further disciplinary action are possible, with another report from Manoj Abraham, IG, Thiruvananthapuram Range, expected shortly.
The law, a senior officer points out, states that if a suspect is taken into custody, his or her arrest should be recorded within 24 hours, or if there is no incriminating evidence, he or she should be released within those 24 hours.
Whether this aspect of law is adhered to in every police station is a matter of debate.
(Reporting by Dennis Marcus Mathew)
