Police officers acting against the State Government’s policy of making the police people-friendly will be sternly dealt with, Industries Minister P. Rajeeve has said.
He was speaking to reporters after the Government suspended the Inspector named in the note left by the deceased law student in Aluva on Friday.
Mr. Rajeeve said the officer was suspended before afternoon in keeping with the wish expressed by the victim’s mother that he had conveyed to the Chief Minister after interacting with her during his visit to the victim’s home in the morning.
The Inspector has been suspended, and a probe is on without any compromise. The Government will take all necessary measures to avoid such incidents in the future. A majority of police personnel are well behaved though there are exceptions in the force. The Home Department is determined to address the issue, Mr. Rajeeve said.
Cong. demand
Meanwhile, the Congress will continue protests demanding booking of the suspended police officer with homicide charges, District Congress Committee (DCC) president Mohammed Shiyas said.
In a statement issued here, Mr. Shiyas welcomed the State Government’s decision to suspend the officer, C.L. Sudheer, and dubbed it the result of the protest by the party.
The public acceptance of the agitation exposed the ineptitude of the Home Department in reining in police officers who denied justice to even a law student and the facade of the Chief Minister who used to wax eloquent on women’s safety, Mr. Shiyas said.
He led a Congress delegation to the house of the victim and pledged the support of the party to her parents in their legal fight seeking justice for her.
‘Atrocities on rise’
Perpetrators are being protected, and innocents are being persecuted at police stations in the State, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan has said. Speaking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, Mr. Satheesan alleged that police stations were being governed by the CPI(M), and that the party decided whether erring officials should be suspended or not. The Opposition will strongly oppose a return to governance by the party cell as was done in the past. He said that dowry deaths and atrocities against women and children were on the rise in the State. Women petitioners are being humiliated at police stations, he alleged. Mr. Satheesan demanded that the Government ensure that not another woman is humiliated at any police station hereafter.
The Government was forced to correct its mistake and suspend the officer owing to the protest by Congress legislators. The Congress and the UDF will not compromise on women’s safety. The officer who faced allegations in the Uthra murder case was protected by highly placed CPI(M) leaders, Mr. Satheesan alleged.
